Moving In Together
by sharonroslin
Summary: Sharon and Andy are finally living together, but how will it work as they both have been living alone for quite a while, and how does it affect everyone surrounding? Will it all be roses and rainbows? Thanks to Elizabeth for being my beta on this story and putting up with my mistakes. Cover image was drawn by Elena for this story!
1. Chapter 1 - The House was sold

When Andy Flynn went out that morning it was chilly, but the sun was setting already with the promise of a wave of heat coming. These days he would spend his nights at his own place rather than at Sharon's, packing his life into boxes. It had been all settled, the house was on the market and he would move in with her and the kid in her condo, while looking for better accommodation for the three of them, in an all new house that would have been **their** house and not his or hers only. Many times Sharon had told him to consider her condo like his house too, but he always felt he intruded into the story of her life, from the first time she had moved into it with her little kids, to cut down on the costs of a too big and too costly house since Jack had left them, to the moment Rusty took the guest room as his own. He wished for a house in which they could build memories together, as a couple and as a family, with enough space to also welcome Sharon's children when they visited, without any of them to haunt the sofa on which he planned to spend a lot of evenings with her in his arms watching movies.

It was early in the morning but the traffic already had him stuck on his way to a crime scene. His phone wouldn't stop ringing with messages from his realtor about the selling of the house, and Andy would ignore them all while driving but one caught his attention while waiting in the queue " _Good morning, Andy._ " It was so simple and yet it made him smile. It had happened another couple of times, when he had spent the night over at his place, Sharon had sent him a _good morning_ message. It wasn't the same as waking up next to those beautiful green eyes looking at him and then see her smile shining upon her face, just a second before to be kissed by her lips that tasted always like cherry. Just a matter of a few more days, and those would have been his days for the rest of his life.

He moved a few meters more to another red light, " _Good morning to you, Sharon. Heading to the crime scene. See you soon._ " He typed a message in response to her. Ever since transitioning from IA to Major Crimes, Sharon had delegated the crime scene to Provenza. The old man had seen the position of command taken from his seat and it had been very difficult for Sharon to make him trust her abilities to lead the division properly. Giving him the power on crime scene territory felt like a good compromise they had made and it was good for them, but a little less good for Andy for Provenza wasn't as attractive as Sharon to him and he was also less open to hear anyone's point of view than she was. Ever since Andy had started dating Sharon at the light of the sun, he was even less inclined to listen to **his** point of view because he said they were intoxicated with her female arts of seduction.

"Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Flynn!" The old man was there waiting for Andy to arrive. Seeing him as the first person in the morning wasn't really his idea of a _good_ morning.

"I was stuck in the traffic, what do we have here?" Sharon had tried to teach Andy to take it calm and after a deep breath let the old man say his things and move on.

"A dead body, Sir!" Sanchez appeared behind a door stating the obvious. Everyone was determined to make it a very hard morning for Andy. And his phone wouldn't stop ringing either.

"Are we disturbing you, Flynn?" Provenza was nastier than usual. Maybe it was the morning becoming hotter, the fact that he was taken out of bed too early or simply being Provenza and more annoying, but he wouldn't stop commenting on Andy's phone constantly ringing and about him checking it.

"I'm working with my realtor about the house, I can't miss this deal is almost sold." Andy was excited he suddenly forgot he was on a crime scene.

"Do you mind getting back to the murder for a moment? Thank you." Provenza was very bossy and everyone was actually glad he wasn't **their** boss full time. He was a good cop, not a word on that, but Raydor was a lot nicer giving orders.

A good time had passed on the crime scene, taking statements from possible witnesses and photos and videos of the whole crime scene, before they sent the body to Dr. Morales for the autopsy.

By the time they arrived at Major Crimes there was no time for Andy to greet Sharon in a proper manner, he had to go with the sweet smile she gave him when they entered the murder room. Provenza went straight to the white board, taking notes of what they gathered from the crime scene and giving Raydor a first picture of what they found there. Andy would have wanted to have Sharon for a whole moment just for himself, he needed to kiss her and smell her perfume to feel good vibes in his morning, but all he could do was stand next to her while exposing all the news and just quickly stroke to her left hand with his fingers.

It wasn't until late in the day that finally his nightmare was going to end, the phone would have been ringing for the last time and he would have one moment alone with her to greet her properly and talk. "Hey, I just sold my house!" He was happy. Finally he got that deal he had wanted to give him enough money from the sale, to invest into buying a new house with Sharon.

Sharon, on the contrary, had mixed feeling in that moment. With an initial shock on the absolutely bad timing of his news, she felt a sense of happiness for it and discomfort at same time; it meant now that the _living together_ was officially happening. Just a little longer than a year ago, she didn't even realize she was dating. After her divorce and the adoption of Rusty, she found in her dinners with Andy a nice _monthly_ habit that had quickly turned into _weekly_ habit to end into dating. She still remembered fresh the spectrum of emotions she felt when he asked her out that night, in front of his desk, as she had just come out of her office heading to wrap up their case with Hobbs. Not to mention their very first kiss. Andy was very comfortable around her, and around women in general, while she was still a little uncomfortable around him in some situations. She had taken a lot of steps ahead since it all started, but still she would be embarrassed to expose so much of their personal relationship at work or outside the walls of their personal space. But his inadequacy to the moment was very cute to her eyes; she saw the excitement on his face and heard it in his voice. Andy was thrilled to start a new chapter on their life as couple. He valued her as a woman and this was a very comforting thought in Sharon's mind and in her heart she knew now that, contrary to what her ex-husband made her think for decades, she was worth the heart of someone.

Later that evening, after wrapping up the case and writing her final notes, it was finally time to leave for home and they would have a moment to talk. Sharon needed Andy to understand she was thrilled about the sale but that he needed to work better on his emotions when at work. A gentle knock on the door distracted her from the thoughts, "Hey." No matter how much she tried, he would always make space for himself in her heart and make her smile even with just a greeting.

Andy entered closing the door behind him, "Look, I'm sorry about before it wasn't the appropriate time to tell you I was just… so thrilled about finally getting that offer we wanted and closing a deal on it. It's our… future you know I feel…" he let out of a breath, "I should have waited until now. Sorry."

Sharon stood up from her chair, closing her laptop and signing on her report's final notes. She grabbed her purse from the drawer in the furniture behind her back and turned the lamp off. Getting closer to Andy, she approached him with a serious look, "As a matter of fact, yes! You could have waited." Her seriousness turned into a smile and soft voice talking, "But you are incredibly cute when you smile." Sharon's rules regarding their personal relationship at work had been very clear: no signs of affection in public, where everyone could have doubted her judgment as his boss and make reference to their intimate relationship. For a while they even went back calling themselves by their ranks, but it hadn't worked in the long run, agreeing that she would call everyone by their first name. But for him it was always a torture when she would call him, because of the soft and tender tone of her voice saying _Andy_ made him crazy. He would take that as soft flirting at work under the eyes of everyone, without being open about it.

There were short moments though, in which Sharon had allowed him to be a little more intimate than he could as her subordinate, and that usually happened among the walls of her office, when the doors where securely closed and curtains covered the view from the outside. "So, in light of this news we should celebrate tonight!" Sharon's voice was deep and intense and her look wandered mischievous over his body.

"I still have some things to put in boxes, but I can totally leave it for tomorrow, want to come over?" The distance between their faces had notably shortened. "Oh and by the way," Andy leaned over Sharon and softly kissed her once on the lips "Hello, Sharon!"

When their lips parted it was always bittersweet. She would have wanted to jump on him and get deeper into that kiss, but she reminded herself she was still _Captain Sharon Raydor_ until they crossed the exit doors. She smiled back at him, "Hello, Andy. Let me go home and get freshened up and check on Rusty and I'll come by your place." Sharon opened the door and went out her office wishing everyone a good night and congratulating them on the good job they did on solving the case, like every day that she left for home. Andy stayed in the room a little longer, watching the woman he loved walking out and wondering what he did in his life to deserve her and also how patient she was to his awkward remarks sometimes. He turned off the light going out of the office and while putting on his jacket to go home, he thought about surprising her with an intimate Italian dinner for two, all cooked by himself. From the selling of the house he still had a whole week ahead to finish packing, tonight would have been a nice break from it to spend alone with her.

It had passed more than two hours when Sharon entered Andy's house. A few months back he had given her his spare keys to use for an emergency or, as he would call it the _safe place_ for their intercourses. Sharon didn't know that he had retrieved them from a very annoying Provenza, who wanted to keep them like it was the most valued treasure of his collection, and had complained for hours and called him an _idiot_ for letting a woman step in at any time she wanted. Despite the fact that he had done all of this before him, with Patrice, first living together and then getting married, Andy hadn't bother to reply to the old man and let him to his rants. He was more than happy to know Sharon would keep those keys and she could use anytime she wanted.

"Oh my… what is all this?" she couldn't believe what she found. The entrance was all wrapped in the dim light of candles, he had placed them all over the room; in the middle of the living room he had set his anonymous table with a red tablecloth falling to the ground, two of his chairs were placed one in front of the other, a long white candle was lit from a glass in between the plates. A single red rose was laying on one of the two plates. "Andy?" Sharon was questioning where he was. She had a quick look in the kitchen but he wasn't there.

"You were looking for me?" Andy appeared from out of his bedroom. He was hiding in the soft lights in his grey three piece suit. He caught her eyes wandering around the room, "I thought we deserved a little time for ourselves tonight," he went closer to her so he could see more of her beauty. Sharon hadn't dressed up too much, a simple cocktail dress in blue and nude décolleté. She placed a kiss on Andy's lips, admiring all his work in the kitchen and setting the room, and especially on his care dressing up. He hummed at the taste of her lips. "Okay, we need to part or the dinner will all go to waste, but last." He kissed her again, deeper and with more intensity, their tongues dancing together, looking for each other and desiring each other. He wished he had just thought about ordering pizza later and take her instead, just right there, because he needed her, his soul did and his heart and his body.

He did a real great effort to separate from her kisses and helped her sitting, "Andy everything is beautiful, but you didn't have to buy all these candles. I like you also under the artificial light of lamps," she was smiling confident at him while accepting the plate he just offered her.

Taking his seat Andy smiled at the beauty of her words and her eyes, "I know, but the thing is… when the light company said _in the arc of 48 hours_ I was counting on them doing at term of the two days. They surprised me!" Ever since closing a deal Andy had spent any break calling each company to cut out his contracts, he wouldn't have needed light or water anyway living at Sharon and would have been more money saved for the new house purchase. He sipped from his glass of water, "I'll finish packing the last boxes in the daylight. Pretty much everything is done and in storage already, those are the ones to go at your place and…"

"Our place Andy," Sharon corrected him immediately.

"Our place," he continued "And I would like to discuss with you where they can go then. But maybe later, we have the whole night."

"I thought about spending it differently, but if you want to talk!" she gave him one of those naughty looks for which before he had screwed up dinner and just made love to her right away. But they were only at the first course. Soon that thought of desiring her so badly would have intensified rather than vanish completely, but it was put aside in the back of his mind in favor of a nice and entertaining conversation. They laughed, they smiled at each other and laughed again. It was great for Andy to spend some last quality time for the last time in that house, which he had bought when his marriage ended and his kids denied him any kind of affection. Alcohol had taken everything he loved but his job, and he had risked losing that too many times, ironically by the hand of the woman that was sitting in front of him now. Those walls had been the container of casual sexual intercourses with women he hadn't dated further than that single time, nights with Provenza watching football on TV and others alone. In the beginning, after his divorce and before it was still clear the picture of his failure on every aspect of his life, he had fallen into the addiction once or twice. It was hard to give up something that it seemed to hide all his problems under the carpet, they would be back the day after with a hangover but for those times he kept drinking they blurred away. It took him a few weeks and the disappointment and humiliation on his children's face to make him deal with the fact that he had a problem of abuse and that it was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. He could do something about it now or be drawn into more alcohol which have probably brought him to an early death of intoxication and failure of his liver and kidneys.

Everything seemed completely different now. The woman sitting in front of him, laughing at his jokes and eating the dinner he had prepared for her, was the same woman that many years before had given him a piece of advice, "Don't lose everything to alcohol. You may not get everything back anymore, but you can try rather than falling without even fighting." She was new in the district, another of those annoying IA officers and they had to assign her to his misconduct case. Only later he had learnt that the officer's husband, a notorious district attorney he had also met and had wanted to punch since first sight, was an alcoholic and he had abandoned her with two little kids. Everything had been more clear in his mind.

After the dessert, he had waited too long to keep taking more time just kissing her and went faster on undressing to the bedroom. He didn't think she was feeling differently for how hungry her lips were on his skin. Andy hated himself for dressing in a three pieces suit, it took him more time than her to unbutton everything and take it off, but she wasn't making him feel her distance in the meantime, kissing every inch of his skin as it appeared from under his shirt. It was an intense night of love, like all those they spent together, and now Andy Flynn was sitting on the bed, watching as the naked woman was sleeping next to him. She was so perfect, at the pale light of the moon that broke through an uncovered spot of the curtains at the window. Her whole body was relaxing from the tension of their love making, and her skin shivered every time he would gently touch her back. Even sleeping she wasn't insensitive to his presence.

Andy was so absorbed thinking to his memories in that house that he didn't notice Sharon had woken up and sitting next to him. "Is Everything alright, Andy?" she was questioning while tracing a path of kisses from his shoulder to the jaw.

"Yeah I was just having some thoughts keeping me awake, you should sleep _honey_!" he gently slid down in the bed with her in his arms. Only a thin blanket would cover their naked bodies, but his own was warm enough for her. She always said he was her human heater.

"Hmmmm," Sharon hummed fitting herself into his hug. "And what are those thoughts? Bad ones?" her arm solidly wrapped around his waist.

"No, no absolutely not. I was going on the valley of memories and just came to my mind that we made love for the first time here," he made his grip on her more solid and placed a kiss on her forehead. He saw her smiling at his words, while her eyes were closing. She was soon to fall asleep again and he was grateful for it. Surely tomorrow was going to be another hell of a day of work, but he also wanted for a moment to be left to his thoughts without talking. Still he wouldn't have desired his whole evening to go any different, with Sharon laying in his arms after making passionate love to her. It was a perfect moment, if only it could be like that every day.

For the first time, since this whole thing of the _moving in together_ had started, he was feeling empty, watching the walls around him all white, all emptied of any frame and sign that he had lived there. He wasn't the kind of man attached to things, and he was still thrilled to be soon living with the woman he loved, but a life together meant to make compromises and he didn't know if he was still any good at it, or if she would have accepted everything he had to offer in their future, when she was with him 24/7 at work and then home. He was starting to have some doubts that he had jumped the gun too soon with it and couldn't be sure she felt the same way or not.

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 **Thanks for reading. Comments and reviews are always welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2 - What If

**Thanks for the comments and reviews. Just a reminder that I'm a Shandy Shipper, so know that if I make (not saying I am or am not!) them fight, I feel your pain. :P**

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The persistent noise of the rain poked Sharon's sleep, as far as she recalled it was the first time it rained in months. She slid to his side to find it empty. It was very cold from a few hours before. Having a quick look at the watch on the nightstand she saw it was a little later than 4 a.m. and Andy wasn't in the bed with her. On a chair in front of it, she found his shirt and while still button it up she went looking for Andy. It wasn't a long research before she found him sitting on his recliner in the living room. "Andy?" she softly called him.

"Hey, you. What you doing up so early?" as Sharon approached he took her hand and guided her to sit on his lap. As Sharon sat down and kissed his cheek he smiled at her, "The rain woke you up?" Sharon shooked her head.

"You weren't there. I was feeling very cold," her voice was feeble with sleep. "I don't like to wake up without you by my side," she made space on his shoulder for her head.

Andy tightened his grip on her back with both his arms to warm her up. "I couldn't sleep and didn't want to wake you up," he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I guess my plan screwed up, since you're here with me now." Sharon knew that something had been bothering Andy, it was visibile over the pas few days now and he never lost an hour of sleep if it wasn't something very important to him.

"Andy, what is going on? You have been a little weird lately," she decided to finally ask him.

"Weird? _Moi_? Aren't you mistaking me for your son? The little blonde one, you know" he tried to loosen up the tention and change the subject but it didn't work out very well.

"Rusty is not weird!" He couldn't help but admire how cute she looked when she got a little nervous over some comments on her kids. And he also knew that she didn't like the comments but she was irresistible, still.

"Hey, he walks around with weird t-shirts and torn jeans. That's not really normal," he looked at Sharon's typical _that's enough_ look. "And he's back at calling me, _Lieutenant_ " he finished his remarks.

"That's not weird, he's just… Rusty is trying to get comfortable with the idea that his mother is dating a guy and we're all going to live together. He didn't have a glorious past with his other mother's boyfriends. And Jack wasn't an upgrade to his situation. He is trying to figure how to get used to it, give him some time." Sharon looked at Andy's expression when she mentioned the _living together situation_ , and something was telling her this seemed to bug Andy as well. Was it the presence of the boy? Or maybe leaving his own place? But he had mentioned he wanted to live closer to his daughter, and work. _Valencia_ was a great place for some quiet for him, and to escape the crowded city of Los Angeles, but the amount of time in the car back and forth was starting to be heavy on his shoulders, and sneaking out in the middle of the night from Sharon's condo to go back home and have a shower, just in time to get ready to work again. Many times they had been discussing this and they ended up agreeing that Andy left some of his suits to her place, which soon became also leaving some of his personal stuff in her bathroom, and slowly buying his favorite coffee to keep for his breakfast. What had started with just a friendship and then dating, had become a living together with two houses. Joining forces and look for one bigger home for them seemed the most logical thing to do.

Sharon knew that he had been excited about it, more than she had and he didn't even hide his excitement, contrary to what she did. She had never questioned herself if maybe this was hitting him harder than it seemed, and maybe talking about it would do him some good. "Do you want to talk about it?" She only gave him a soft kiss before she stood up and headed to the kitchen. Sharon poured herself a glass of water waiting for Andy's response. He shrugged. She went closer to him again, this time standing in front of him and passing a hand through his hair, "Honey, if something is bugging you we should talk about. This is what couples do. They talk and solve problems together." Andy still seemed unsure about talking with her, "Honey, look!" Sharon made space for her on his recliner "I won't force you to talk if you don't want to, but if it is something about the living together I think it's better to discuss it now before it's too late," she wasn't angry or pissed at him, but the idea of not knowing what was bugging him about this _moving in_ was setting down the happy mood of their relationship.

Andy on the contrary seemed a little nervous about her latest statement, "Too late for what?" He sounded nervous to her ears.

"I don't know what it is, how can I know for what?" Tones were going into another different direction that Sharon had wanted to. "Please, Andy. Let me help you. What is it?" She thought it would ease the situation to give him a sweet kiss on his lips.

Andy let go of a breath he didn't even know he had been holding for so long, "And if you get bored?"

"I don't get bored to discussing things with you, Andy!"

"No," he let go of another breath. "Bored with me. If you get tired of my annoying presence and my boring talks about being sober," Andy moved his look away from her. "I'm not an interesting person, and women seem to run away from me." He didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to risk it and see any confirmation to his words in her eyes. Andy had tried to make his marriage work, but eventually Amanda had figured that all he had to offer was getting in and out of rehab and being intoxicated with alcohol, and after she kicked him out, his daughter had denied him visits because she was ashamed. Even if being sober, his history with women hadn't changed much. Some he didn't want to see past the first date, some others never made available for him after the first night together. There was something that he did or said, that he didn't know about but made them not get to him again.

Sharon's first instict would suggest for her to hug him, and kiss him, telling him these were all silly thoughts and would never be real. But she experienced it, on her own skin, when her marriage fell apart because her husband, who had sworn in front of God and family and friends to love her and be constantly amazed by her for the eternity, after few years he had already been looking for better in others.

"Well," she drew back his attention with her moving his chin with her hand. "I cannot promise you that I will not get bored, but I can try to hold on to it as long as possible, although," she stood up in front of him.

"Although?" He was curious to know what she was going to say.

Sharon was now standing in front of him, in the pale light of the moon he could see her perfect legs standing naked in contact with his. She leaned on him putting her hands on the armrests, "Although I may feel tempted to hit the town and tell all the girls out there that _Lieutenant Andy Flynn_ is mine until death do us apart,"

"Which in my case could come soon if you don't slow down the flirting a little," he was excited with her choice of the words and her casual flirting. Also he was excited for the little part of skin he could see through the neckline as she leaned on him.

Sharon pulled him up with her, standing in the middle of the living room, with her arms solidly around his shoulders, "Andy, I cannot promise you eternity. I can only see a small portion of my future and in that portion you are there, with me. For _us_. I could have never jumped into this and back up from _us_ two years ago, and I won't hide you there's still a part of me that screams it would have been better, because I have been hurt. Badly. Deeply. And it changed me. But in the past two years you not only managed to cheer me up and stand by my side, you made a place in my heart that won't ever belong to anyone else. And I love it. And I love _you_. In all honesty, now I can't see my future without you and I don't know how I managed my past without you."

For the first time, Andy had listened to Sharon speaking from her heart rather than her mind. For the first time she had managed to leave him speechless, because anything he could have said would have ruined the perfection of her speech. He decided to express his gratitude for her words in another way, holding her close to his body and kissing her deeply. When they parted Sharon still had her eyes closed, "Now is there anything else that worries you?" She didn't wait for an answer and kissed him again.

Tracing a line of kisses from her lips to the neck, Andy said one word for each kiss "No, but if you tell me these things every time I'll think about something to worry me," he took her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips again, devouring them as if it was his last meal. " _Man_ , I love you so much!" He could feel her smiling under his kisses. The sides of her mouth were expanding over her face and it was the best feeling for him. "Also," parting from her was always bittersweet even if just for few minutes. "Can you wear my shirt all the time? It looks much better on you!" His allusive smirk was a lot more explicative than any words.

"Andrew Flynn," Sharon scolded him with a smile.

"Yes, _Captain_!" He stood straight in front of her as he gave her a military salute.

Sharon rounded his naked and hairy torso with her arms and rested her head on it, "You make me laugh, and also for this I cannot break up with you," she hummed closing her eyes and holding her grip more solid. Andy wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Andy?" he hummed in response. "All these boxes are going home?" Sharon looked around at the boxes he had packed and she saw a lot of them, not sure that they would all fit in the condo.

Andy burst into a laugh. "Don't worry, _Love_. Those three will go to your condo,"

"Our!" She corrected him again.

" _Damn_ , I'll never get it right. Okay, **our** condo. The rest can go to storage and if I need anything I'll go and pick it up." He had a warm and comforting smile, but Sharon wouldn't have wanted to impose him with a small number of his things; after seeing their _dreamhouse_ blowing away from their hands, it had been a while since they had looked around for another one. Between the work, and Andy's small health issues, and then Rusty and Thanksgiving that was coming, they had put a hold on the search and decided to take it slow. The condo wasn't the perfect fit for three people, but they would have managed to go on a little more. But in order to make it good for all, Andy needed to feel home and in his space and have his most beloved things. "Oh and well my recliner." He added to Sharon's dislike. She tried to hide it but it was hard.

She really hated that recliner. It wasn't just that it was in leather and she found it very uncomfortable and with the normal heat of the weather it was like sitting on glue. That recliner also didn't fit with her furniture at all; by color, style or her likes. "Oh!" Her reply was very communicative to Andy.

"You will end up loving it. I'm sure!" She could see all his excitement again. Andy moved away from her to walk towards the kitchen, "Oh look at the hour, we really did talk a lot. What you say we catch on little more sleep before we start the _fun_ day of packing?"

It was the day before _Thanksgiving_ , and things had been quiet at the precinct, so everyone was given a deserved time off for vacation. _Robbery Division_ could cover up for their cases for a couple of days, after the last one they could all use some time off to rest their brains and hurt. For Thanksgiving Sharon had arranged a dinner with the division at the condo, inviting them all with their partners and children, so in order for Andy to be home and help her with the cooking and cleaning and everything else, he had arranged for them to help him finishing the packing and driving the things between the condo and storage. They had all been happy to help, knowing that if it was their turn he would have helped without saying a word; everyone but Provenza, but that was to no one surprise. The old man liked to complain a lot. And in most cases he also would be the only one not to lift a finger, sitting on the couch or a chair and telling everyone how bad they were doing at what they were doing, and calling Andy an _idiot_ for whatever reason it would cross his mind. Andy had been tempted not to tell him anything about helping with the move, but then he would have complained he was left out of it.

While walking to the bedroom with his arm around Sharon's shoulders Andy had to ask a question, "So tell me. How much does the kid hates me for moving my stuff around on his free day?" He hadn't asked Rusty but Sharon had. She needed someone to help her at the condo as Andy's stuff was brought by Amy or Julio.

"He doesn't hate you more than when you call him, _kid_!" she answered.

"Well, he is a kid. Not mine but he's a kid." Entering the room Andy opened a drawer from the wardrobe and pulled out the old sweatshirt from the academy. It was big for Sharon but it would make as a pajama top for the night.

"That is exactly the attitude you have to end with him. When you call him a kid you make him feel like a little baby, and he wants to have an opinion and discuss things with adults, like an adult!" They were setting up the bed stretching the sheets.

"I should feel offended by myself for pointing out that he's young and I'm not," he looked over at her and saw that his sarcastic note didn't make her laugh one bit. "Okay, I will stop. Will he stop calling me _Lieutenant_?"

"With time, maybe." Covering herself up, Sharon gave Andy a kiss and laid on her side.

"Why do I **have to** stop calling him by that and he **will maybe** stop calling me like that?" Andy was questioning Sharon.

"Because I can convince **you** with sex and I cannot do the same with him," she replied with her eyes closed and buring her face in the pillow to laugh.

Andy took a moment to think about her reply, and then shrugged. "Fair enough, I'll bring the heavy weight of this punishment," he leaned over to kiss her cheeck "Goodnight, _Love_!" Sharon hummed and with her hand took his arm to wrap it around her. He loved to fall asleep smelling the perfume of her hair, and she loved to feel the warmth of his body wrapping around her, she felt secure, protected and at peace.

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 **Thanks for reading. Comments and reviews are always welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Packing Fun

The rain had finally stopped to leave space for a brighting sun. It was a little before 8 in the morning when Andy woke up Sharon with a cup of hot coffee in his hands. "Goodmorning, _Love_!" he placed a kiss on her lips but she was still too sleepy to respond to it properly. After a night up of making love and then talking, she needed more than barely 3 hours of sleep, but a long day was ahead of them and tomorrow would have been even longer.

Sharon sat on the bed admiring the light from the windows, "Hmmm," the coffee tasted good on her tongue. "It stopped raining?" She took another sip from Andy's _Worst Partner Ever_ cup, she hadn't asked about that before but it was quite surely a gift from Provenza, to remind Andy what he constantly told him in person.

"Yeah, it seems it's going to be hot again soon. Sun is shining!" Andy tried to stand up and move to the kitchen but Sharon's hand stopped him. As she placed the cup on the nightstand, she pushed him to her.

"Goodmorning!" Her green eyes disappeared from his sight as soon as she placed her lips on his. She was awake and it was clear what she was thinking.

"Sharon, they will be here by 9.30 and we have to shower and eat something," slowly Sharon dragged him closer and slid to his side on the bed. She kept kissing and humming at his attempts to make her stop, but it wasn't going to happen and Andy could only stop trying and join her in the passionate kissing. "Okay, I give up. Come here!" He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and in no time he was upon her, balancing his weight not to squeeze her. "You are evil, I hope you know that!" She gave him a naughty smile.

Sex in the morning was a different thing. While during the night it had been passionate, slow and romantic, this morning was hurried, faster and more like a physical need than anything else. Not that they hadn't enjoyed it, but they had better wanted more time to dedicate to each other. In both cases, Andy loved it. He loved that during the night he had all the time to explore her body and trace small kisses along her spine, and the way she pressed her hands on his body, like she wanted to leave a print on it. He also loved how quickly, in the morning, she had revealed her intentions and that she was naked the minute after, with no foreplays or teasing. She just needed him. She just wanted him. In the bed, and under the shower. It was what their bodies were asking, to meet and combine each other. It had been less romantic, but surely not less intense.

It only left them a few minutes of smooching before everyone was going to be there, and Andy knew that Provenza would have been the first to arrive. The old man was not the kind to arrive late to a meeting, it gave him all the time he had planned to complain about things.

And Andy surely was right because at the strike of 30 on the clock, they had arrived. "Is there a reason why I've to be here on my holidays?" The old man entered without even a greeting, followed by his wife Patrice, Buzz and Rusty.

"Please make yourself comfortable!" Andy closed the door after everyone was in, joking about his lack of a greeting.

When everybody had said Hello and Sharon had given her son a kiss, Provenza stated again "So, what's the reason for me being here?" Patrice had tried to calm him down during the whole ride, with not much success.

"Well I could say that it is because you're my friend and happy about me moving in with the woman I love, and so you came to help. Or we could say because I did it for you when you needed my help. But let's just say you're here to please my ears and poke at my fun to see you pissed off," Andy went to the kitchen "Anyone wants something to drink? Coffee, water, more coffee."

Sharon interrupted the nice exchange between the two men, "Okay well as much as I would love to stay here and enjoy the two of you, Rusty and I will go. What's ready to bring home, Andy?" Sharon grabbed her jacket and her keys. She moved to where Andy was standing and gave him a kiss.

"Wait, I'm here to work and she goes away?" Provenza immediately remarked on the situation.

"No, **she** is going to work at home and **you** are going to stay here doing nothing. It's different!" Appointed Andy. He moved to the door to open it for Rusty who had grabbed a box to put in the car. Sharon hadn't asked him to come over to help, leaving the boy more time to sleep until she was home again to start making space for Andy stuff, but he had decided on his own to get in the car with Provenza and go there, only for Sharon not to do the drive back home alone. He was pretty sure she could use some rest and let him drive. Also, in Rusty's head, that might have been the last time he had some time alone with his mother, now that Andy was going to be with them the whole time. And how he had missed those times with just her; not that he didn't like the man, on the contrary he was surprised himself how fast he got on okay with Andy hitting their lives and making a space for himself in the family, after his biological mother's last boyfriend he promised himself not to trust any new _boyfriend_ ever, from whichever of his mothers it came. But Andy managed to make him change his mind, and while he was grateful for this, for having a male figure in his life that was put, not into drugs and sometimes funny, he hadn't been easy on allowing him to take part in what had been his and his mother things. The Sunday night of movies, had become the Monday night of movies because Sundays footbal was on and Andy would watch that, and while it wasn't a big deal to them to move it to another day, it was a bigger deal for Rusty to share the moment with another man. He wasn't jealous of not being anymore "the man of the house", but he was of his time with Sharon. After all, Andy had her at work most of the time, why couldn't he leave a little space for him at home?  
He also wasn't particularly fond on going to the movies with them, where they always ended up watching some extreme action or war movies that Andy loved, and none of what the other two really liked but Sharon always pushed to do what Andy liked, to "make him feel more welcome in our family," she said. And the thing he really didn't like at all was all the kissing and flirting signals they sent to each other at home. It was clear they were in love, but he would rather prefer they saved the affections for the bedroom than in his presence.

"Okay these boxes are enough for you to bring to your…. Our condo!" Andy had helped Rusty with a couple of more boxes, mostly all his clothes, and greeted the kid thanking him for his help, and calling him by name this time. "I'll miss you. A lot. And pray for my nerves!" He placed his hands on her arms while kissing her.

"I'll pray for your nerves, and your blood pressure. I would prefer not to get a call from the hospital, at least this Thanksgiving, okay? And you," Sharon had a look for Provenza. "Do not stress my man, alright?"

"Was that an order?" Provenza knew the response but he had the right of teasing since they technically weren't at work and she wasn't the commanding officer there.

"Yes, _Lieutenant_. It is!" Sharon knew it was all about playing and she was having fun with it. She smiled waving goodbye to everyone and gave Andy one last kiss, before Rusty started to blow the horn from the car.

When they left Andy closed the door and stopped by it for a moment. "Ohhh what have I done to deserve her?" Provenza was mocking his partner.

"You joke but that's true. I have been a terrible man in my past, and she is too good for me," his voice was trembling a little, he didn't seem like the Andy everyone knew, confident and sure of everything he said. "You finish in here I'll do the bedrooms," he left the room to hide into the guest room. It was small and cozy. In all the years he lived there it wasn't used one single time, if not that one time that Provenza had an argument with one of his ex-wives and stayed with Andy for a few days to let the _at-time_ Mrs. Provenza to cool down and ultimately file for divorce. When he bought the house, he knew that his kids wouldn't have spent a night there, but he left one last hope they might have. From time to time, when Sharon didn't see him, he went to that room and watched the small frames he had placed on the walls, with himself and his kids, new-born Charlie and Nicole's first Christmas.  
Now he was standing in an empty room, with naked walls and felt lonely. Now more than ever he was sure that moving in with Sharon was the right decision, she filled his life and his heart, and having Rusty around maybe wasn't that bad after all. He never had to feel alone anymore.

"We call it _love_ , my friend," Patrice entered the room and put a hand on his shoulder. "You are a good man Andy and Sharon knows it. She loves you for that. That's why we are all here to help you packing up your things and move on with your life," Andy hadn't spent much time with Patrice since she entered Provenza's life, but he admired her a lot for putting up with the old man and his crankiness. _He makes me smile_ , she once told him about her husband. "You know, my first husband he was a very decent man. He would go to church, and help kids, and if he saw and old lady walking at the pedestrian crossings he would stop there and help,"

"A good man," Andy's chin was down, like he was embarassed to hear this story or to confront himself to a man he had never even met.

"A very good one. But very sad. He lived for working and he worked for living. His work became his life and he did it for me to have a good one, but he didn't understand one simple thing I needed, I needed him. Sometimes I say he loved his job more than he loved me. And his job ended up killing him. Now my second husband he is… well Louie. I loved my first husband, but I love Louie more. He is caring and does things for me and wants to be with me. You get what I mean?"

"You mean that the best of men can't be necessarely be the best option for a woman, but the most doubtful of them can be?" He replied immediately.

"Precisely, you may have had troubles in the past, but Sharon has seen past them and still she chose you. For what Louie has told me about her ex-husband, she surely didn't need a troublemaker and she chose you, what does this tell you?" Andy didn't know much about this woman and after all Patrice didn't know much more about Andy than what her husband had told her, but he was seeing her under a different, but good light, and she was showing to have a very good heart. He could understand now why Provenza fell for her, although he still didn't understand why she fell for the old man, instead.

"That I may not be as bad as I think and maybe I deserve her after all I've been going through," she smiled at him. "Patrice, I…" he didn't know what to tell her, "thanks!" The simplicity sometimes could pay better than too articulated thoughts. "It's going to be weird in the beginning," Andy kept looking at the empty walls thinking that he wouldn't have any space to escape for a while now.

Patrice smiled again, knowing that situation very well. Not too long before the wedding she had moved in with Provenza, left her own house and spaces to live with the man she was in love with. "Trust me, my friend, by the time you'll cross that door tonight, you will forget you ever had a space without her." She left him in the room with these words, thinking about what they meant, and Andy realized how much in common he and Patrice had for being the one of the couple to be moving on and start again in another place that hadn't belonged to them since the beginning.

While he could listen to his partner complaining about Buzz not doing things as he wanted, and Mike explaining how it would be better to pack fragile things in a very slow and detailed way, Andy finished packing all the frames into a small box. He wouldn't have asked Sharon to hang them up, but hopefully he could keep them in the box close to him, maybe under the bed and look at them from time to time.

"Flynn," from the other room the old man was screaming. "Do you want to come here and help or do we have to do all the work?" He was complaining as he was supposed to.

"We?" Amy asked regretting it the minute after Provenza gave her a bad look. "I'll put these in the car," she disappeared from the door with Sanchez following with two boxes.

"Most of the dishes are packed and ready to bring out, where should they go?" Patrice was pointing to the boxes she had just finished closing.

"Oh those all go to storage, Sharon has hers it's pointless to stuff things in the house. It's already too small. These instead," he pointed to the magazines pile, "need to be put in boxes and they go to the condo. You can do that, Patrice, I'll take the dishes. Provenza," he watched his partner sitting down on the recliner with his cross words and a pencil at hand, "feel free to sit down and do nothing, please." He only received a grunt from the other part, which made him laugh. It was all so predictable, but still so funny.

 **O-O-O-O-O-O**

In the meantime, in Los Feliz, Sharon was unpacking the boxes full of clothes that Andy had sent home with her. "Where do you want me to put this, Mom?" Rusty entered with another box.

"Leave it there for now, are there more boxes?" Rusty shook his head, "Okay can you please open me these two boxes and then start to move stuff around in the living room?" Sharon moved her attention back to putting Andy's clothes in the space she had made in the wardrobe for him, "We need to make space for moving the table for tomorrow," Sharon hummed, "Rusty can you lend me some coat hangers? Andy has a lot of suits and I'm running out of it, do you mind?"

Rusty walked to his bedroom, still having on his arm one of Andy's jackets that Sharon had handed him for a moment to stretch a wrinkled pair of trousers, and while grabbing a few hangers for his mom, something fell from the jacket. Rusty bent down to grab it and saw a small photo of Sharon smiling. It was rare for him to see her like this, with that light shining on her face and the quietness in her eyes; all he had seen since living with her was the worries of his life at risk and her job devouring her completely, that he had wondered if she had ever smiled once in her life. Of course, there was a few moments she would be smiling but it wasn't like in that picture, it wasn't so joyous and cheerful, and full of brighting light. He was wondering when that picture had been taken and why Andy would have it in his jacket and not in his wallet, but Sharon distracted his thoughts calling. He stuffed the picture back in the pocket and brought to his mother what she had asked. "Hey, ummm… can I ask you something?" Sharon nodded without moving away her attention away from the ordering, "Are you and Andy going to get married?" This question caught her attention.

"Wha… why do you ask me that? Did he tell you something?" Sharon was moving in his direction questioning him like he was a suspect in one of her cases, "Did Provenza tell you something? You found a ring?"

"No, no. Nothing, I was just… wondering, you know. He's moving here, and we are looking for another house. I don't know, it seems all… so hurried," Rusty was confused. Not that he had heard anything or seen anything that could make him think so, but for what he understood of Sharon she had a precise scheme of rules in her head she followed and this arrangement had happened almost immediately for how slow her romance was going. "It's… that's okay, let's pretend I didn't ask."

"Rusty is it okay? I realized just now that we are doing all this and I never asked you," Sharon put her hands on his shoulders.

"Well it's not like now you can tell him otherwise, he sold the house, but mom really it's okay. I like the guy," he freed from her grip and took a couple of jumpers and put them in a drawer. Last time they had a conversation about her relationship with Andy, she was questioning how they had to do with _overnight guests_. Rusty would have never guessed that she could get into a romance with him, or any man for what he knew; after seeing her troubled and complicated relationship with Jack, he surely didn't expect Sharon to fall in love again, and have sex and live with a man. "But I don't have to watch football with him now, right?"

Sharon burst into a laugh, "Oh don't worry I can cover for that. But you may have to deal with him on something," she looked amused in her look at her son. Sharon knew that Rusty already considered dealing with him when he let him live there, and watch football, and pick the movies and so on, but she needed her son to do a little more effort and make Andy feel like he belonged there with them, instead of a guest sleeping over. On her part, she had conceded him a bunch of things too; she let him take the kitchen, but that wasn't much of a painful thing to do for her, since she was good at cooking but didn't particularly enjoyed it. Also he had taken her side in the bed, the one she had been sleeping for a lifetime, because it was also his side and she didn't mind letting him have it. The biggest deal she had to make for him was the recliner. Andy had wanted it in the living room and Sharon in a trash can; he had fought a little with her to have it, saying it was good for his back, that sometimes it got stuck and it was the only comfortable chair he could sit on, he had brought in stories around it that made him sentimentally attached to it, of which Sharon was sure he had made up. After a few months of battleing she had finally surrended and said _yes_.

"Look, Rusty. If Andy and I start discussing marriage, I promise you will be the first one to know, deal?" Sharon offered Rusty a hand shaking to seal their deal.

 **O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Flynn… Flynn…" Andy was absorbed in closing the last box, while Provenza kept calling on him. It had been a long day, it was coming to the late noon already and the sun was going down, and after having hours of Provenza criticizing everyone for packing the wrong way, it had remained only him and his partner into an empty house.

Everyone had left to get back to their places, with a few boxes to drop by at Sharon's condo first.

"Flynn, listen to me. I hate to repeat myself. It's time to set and go, we emptied it all and your _girlfriend_ will hang my head to a wall if I don't get you home in time for dinner," he grabbed the keys from his pocket. "Where is your car, anyway?"

When Sharon and Andy had decided to live together and started saving any money for the new house, they had also decided in accord that two cars weren't of any use, since they would spend the time at work and home together, and when they were at work Sharon wouldn't have needed the car to move anyway and he could use to go to crime scenes and such. So they had decided, and Rusty was happy about it, to scrap Sharon's old car she had left for her kids and to Rusty daily usage, and the boy would have taken Andy's car. It wasn't a new car as he would have preferred but surely better than his mother's old one.

At this time Andy had booked a van to put all the big stuff that was going to storage and after giving back the van, Provenza would have given him a lift to the condo. "It's the kid's now, I'll use Sharon's… ours. I'll never get used to this _our_ thing!"

In a moment that neither of them could explain, Provenza put a hand on his partner's shoulder, "Flynn. Are you **really** sure this is the right thing?"

"It is a little bit late now to change my mind, don't you think?" He moved away from him. "It is the right thing. I know it is. I love Sharon. I wanna live with her and I wanna end my days with her,"

"You're an _idiot_ in love, great!" Provenza broke the moment with his usual ironical remarks.

"But," Andy decided to pass on this one as well, "We both have been living alone for a very long time. It's hard enough for one to adapt to things, how can it be for two?" He gave another look around at the emptiness, "I have been living here for so long and alone, I forgot how you do it when someone else is in the house and fills it with laughter and presence," Andy gave a look to Provenza standing close to the door and looking over at him, "I only had you coming over for the games, and you're a terrible guest, let me tell you!"

"Yes, I am and now your girlfriend will have to handle me because it was in our agreement that I'll come over at her place… _your_ place, damn! It's going to be hard for me too now. Thank you, Flynn!" Provenza had once again managed to get pissed over something and moved the discussion on himself. But Andy didn't take it personal, he knew that in his own way, he was trying to sweep away the weight of his worries from his shoulders.

As Provenza took the door to leave and Andy followed, "Thankfully she let you keep that recliner. I wouldn't visit you if she didn't allow it in the house," he said moving towards the car.

"Oh thank you. I feel flattered that you visited me only for the chair!" Andy took his keys to close the door. He would have to stop by the realtor to give them back to him.

"You wouldn't think I visited because I like you, do you?" Provenza's voice was far already, he had reached the car and was urging Andy to move.

"Yeah," Andy whispered and let out of a breath while giving a last look before to shut the door behind himself. It was done, the beginning of a new adventure, a chapter had concluded and a new one was starting.


	4. Chapter 4 - A New Chapter

**To answer a comment. The recliner is kind the funny center of this fanfiction, it gives me good material to work on to make this a romance yeah but still comedy one. Not saying anything for the future chapters, but to simply restyle it would lose much of the fun around it.**

 **Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews.**

* * *

It was a little bit after 8 pm when Andy arrived at the condo, with his bag on his shoulder it felt like he didn't stop in a whole week for nights and days. He was tired and all he could think about doing was to have a shower, sit down on his recliner and watch some tv. This at least is what the old Andy would have done, but now he was a new Andy, on a new chapter of his life and some things had to change. Now he was coming home to someone and to something.

As soon as he put the keys in the door, he heard a click from the other side and the door opened with Rusty and Gus with a pale look. They didn't say much but overcrossed him and disappeared in the elevator. "Bye kids," he shrugged and entered the door. As soon as he had closed it behind him, he looked around searching for Sharon.

"Sharon? _Honey_ , I'm home," he checked in the first room seeing the table had been moved and his boxes were still standing behind the couch. "Sharon? Where are you hiding?"

From the bathroom he heard some noise. Opening the door he saw Sharon standing in front of the medicines box and trying to clean the blood from her hand. "What the hell? Sharon what did you do?" He ran inside, leaving behind his jacket which fell on the floor. "How did it happen?"

He took some cotton wool to disinfect the wound. It was not so deep but extended all over her palm. "I was trying to make dinner for us and used your tools, that damn knife is sharp," because of his passion for cooking, Andy and Sharon had agreed that he would do most of it and his tools and his books would have taken the space in this kitchen, they were better and more useful. This time Sharon wanted to surprise him, Rusty had decided to spend the night at Gus, to give them some privacy for the very first night in the new living-together arrangement. "I wanted to make a dinner for us," she retrieved her hand from his touch. He wasn't being rough, but per insinct she was protective towards her wounds; she never had someone taking care of them for her, it was just her to take care of herself in her life since college.

"Stop moving, I'm trying to clean it and cover with a bandage," he took her hand trying to block her from moving it away again. "We could have just ordered something," he said going on cleaning her wound the best he could.

"I wanted to make something special," she looked down to the floor. Blood didn't make her nervous on crime scenes, but seeing it from her own body always made her uncomfortable.

After a few minutes of silence, Andy had finished to bandage her hand. "Hey! That is very sweet, _honey_." With his finger he lifted up her chin and kissed her on the lips, shortly and sweet, just a soft caress of them. "So…" they parted for a moment, "at which point of the cooking did this happen?" He pointed to her wounded hand.

"Sadly at the very beginning, I'm afraid we will have to order out as you said!" Sharon started to clean the mess she made in the bathroom looking for stuff to heal her wound.

"Okay, now will you please go to the couch and sit down? I'll finish here and we order some pizza," Andy watched at her upset face, "Hey! All I want is to be with you. It doesn't matter what we eat or sitting where we do, by the end of the day I'll fall asleep with you in my arms and tomorrow I will wake up next to you, that's all that matters to me!"

"Oh Andy," he was expecting a deep kiss on his lips but she surprised him with a loud smooch on the cheek and moved out of the bathroom. "I will sit on the couch and order some pizza, I suppose you would like to take a shower!"

Andy sighed quietly at the thought of Sharon leaving but she was right, he needed a shower. He felt tired, tense and most of all filthy for all the dust and the sweating from packing and moving the boxes here and there to make space for more. He just had to admit to himself he was no longer in his 20's, and a small thought terrified him when he realized soon he would have to do that all over again when finally he and Sharon would have found the right house to move in with the kid.

It took him 30 minutes to get out of there, and Sharon had once knocked at the door to check he was doing all fine. He had been using that time to reflect and relax at the same time. He went back to what he just said to Sharon, and he actually couldn't believe he did. At the beginning of this relationship he had promised himself not to be too cheesy and at same time not to push the line too much with romanticism and sweet sentences; he certainly didn't want Sharon to get scared and break up with him. But he had just literally told her "I cannot think of living without you by my side," and what about her reaction? She had been moved but just kissed him on the cheek. Maybe it meant she thought it was sweet but not the right moment? Or maybe she didn't like that kind of affection?

Andy's thoughts were going crazy focusing on all the bad, that he barely heard Sharon knocking at the door to check on him. "Andy are you okay? You have been in there a while,"

"Yes, all fine. I got lost in time relaxing a little. I'm out right now, gimme five minutes!" he replied quickly as he turned off the water. Just as he was walking down the passage the door bell rang. He was right there so he went to open it to find the delivery guy with their pizzas. He had been so absorbed he didn't even hear the entryphone.

After paying the guy he turned to the living room, "I hope you got the vegetarian with extra sweet pepper for me because…." Andy remained speechless. In front of him was standing Sharon in a red cocktail dress, with her hair tied on the sides and her curls falling gently on the shoulders. The first thing he noticed was the pendant on her neck, a silver heart jewel that he had bought for her the first time they celebrated her birthday since she joined the Major Crimes division.

"I thought you weren't coming out anymore. Although it gave me enough time to do all this," she motioned her hands pointing to herself.

Andy still wasn't talking.

"You will have to say something, this silence is embarassing!" Sharon continued watching him in the eyes.

"I…" Andy tried to let out some words "We better eat or they'll get cold!" his best answer to her was about the food. All that thinking had given him more anxiety than anything. "I mean, you look beautiful!" putting on the table the boxes he turned to move her chair and kissed her on the cheek.

Just as he turned to his seat he noticed the room.

The table had previously been moved, and he had noticed this, but there were no candles or flowers on it. Sharon had set up for a very romantic dinner, covering just a small part of the big table for the two of them and putting two candles and a vase with flowers, between their plates.

"I told you I had planned big tonight, if it wasn't for…" she waved her hand with bandages.

"Well at least red and white fit good, think if we had blue bandages. Too much color on you," he tried as a way out of the embarassment of before. And it seemed to work because Sharon was laughing.

They started to eat and it had released some tension. Seeing Sharon trying to bite her slices without getting dirty was quite entertaining for Andy.

"The kids left pretty quickly before," he said biting another slice of his vegetarian.

"Umm," Sharon swallowed her bite and stood up. "Speaking of which," she grabbed something from the drawer of her desk "I got you something," and handed him a wrapped small package.

Andy examined it and looked at Sharon suspicious, "A gift? Hell had I have known, I have nothing for you, _honey_ ,"

"You don't have to get me something everytime you come here. You are going to come back here quite often, are you that rich and didn't tell me anything about it?" This time it was Sharon to make a joke and ease the tension, "Open it!"

"Alright," Andy started to unwrap it. It was a book, " _Living Together,_ " he started reading the title and anxiety came back again. He went on reading, " _10 ways to share a house with your son_? Sharon!" He looked at her bored, "Really? A book to learn to live with Rusty?"

"Read the title of the first chapter," she teased him smiling.

"Do not…"

"Louder," she was having fun teasing him.

"Do not call him _kid_ ," he closed the book and looked behind at the author information. "Are you sure you didn't write this?"

Sharon burst into a laugh, "I was at the book store the other day to get something for your grandsons' birthday and I found it. I read that chapter title and I thought it was perfect for you. The author is a well respected psychologist," Andy's face was still bored looking at her. "He is an expert!" She finished her sentence satisfied. Sharon hadn't expected Andy to have any other reaction but that one, and she would have made sure he read all of the 10 chapters.

Living together was going to be hard. From changing her own habits to influencing also those of Rusty. One evening they had sat down in the living room and Rusty had read her a list of things he had preferred not to see, that went from smooching and various effusions of love, to never have to see Andy without his clothes or hear anything that any child shouldn't hear from his parents. It had been a very awkward yet funny moment to Sharon, as it had reminded her of Ricky many years before, after Jack had left and Sharon was dating an insurer.

"So, what do you say to moving things to the bedroom?" Andy would have never thought that Sharon Raydor could be so direct.

"Shouldn't we wait two hours after eating?" He replied.

Sharon knew he was joking, but was annoyed by him ruining the moment constantly, "That is if you have to swim, _silly_!" She grabbed his hand to lead him to the bedroom.

"Wait, wait, wait. The k…" he paused, "Rusty is not sleeping here tonight?" he stopped her and his look seemed amused now.

"No, he is staying at Gus, why?" Sharon instead was confused.

"Let's get wild on the sofa, I always dreamed of it!" He quickly moved on the sofa bringing Sharon with him, but she wasn't as amused as him.

"Andrew Flynn, I refuse to make love on the sofa," she folded her arms.

"And… on the recliner?"

"I am not like any of the cheap women you used to date before me! And also I'm never going to sit on that thing," first he thought she was joking, but now he was sure she was damn serious about it.

"Okay, okay. Bedroom, but smile for me okay?" He jumped standing and kissed her lips softly.

Only when they arrived to the bedroom he understood that Sharon's intentions had primarly being to show him how she made the room for them, and then to possibly make love to him. "Wow!" He said.

The first thing he noticed was the bed sheets. Sharon had removed the florar pink ones changing to a more anonymous but masculine pattern of striped in grey and blue. In front of their bed was standing his old living room television on the chiffonier. "Here I thought we could put all your underwears and socks, the daily things." She showed him the first drawer, "here are all your shirts," in the second drawer. Everything was perfectly arranged in order, without a fold and divided by a separator. She could be too exaggerated in organizing things sometimes, but Andy loved how much effort she put in it.

"Here there's a whole space in the wardrobe for you, your suits and other trousers," she was showing him like a presentation from a professional seller, "and oh here there's another drawer if you want to use it for sweaters or anything else you would like." She smiled at him and he could not avoid thinking of how in love he was with her minute by minute and always more. He thought how much all of this had to drive Rusty crazy, to follow Sharon here and there and organize everything. He wasn't a messy boy, but he had his particular way that he called _order_.

Sharon had left the best part to last. They were now standing at the end of the bed, with their back to the television and watching the nightstands. "And this is the last part, this is your side," he vaguely heard a sad tone in her voice. Andy knew that both of them had been sleeping on the same side for decades, but they couldn't both sleep on it now that they were sharing a bed, and he also knew that it had costed Sharon more than she had admitted to be the one to submit.

Andy put a hand behind her back, and stroking it up and down he leaned to kiss her. "What is this for?" She asked.

"Nothing, because I love you." He kissed her again, "and because you gave me your side!"

"It's your side now," this time it was Sharon to kiss him and when they parted she pointed to something on the nightstand. Andy went closer, it was a picture, he had imagined of the two of them but instead Sharon surprised him.

"It was in one of the boxes that Amy had left here, and I remember I had seen it on the desk in your bedroom, I think it belongs here." That picture was one of Andy's highest moment of pride. He was with his little princess, all dressed up in her tutu after her first show in school. Nicole was 6 and Andy had never seemed more happy to Sharon than in that picture with his girl on the right and holding his 4 years old boy on the left.

Without any words or more thinking, Andy immediately went to Sharon and taking her face in his hands he kissed her deeply, for quite a long moment and only separated from her to get rid of his shirt, to reunite with her kiss immediately after. He was worn out, tired and his bones had ached the whole time since he had finally unloaded the last box in storage, but nonetheless they made love, intensively and with passion. At the touch of his hands, Sharon's skin started to have goosebumps and her breathing intensified with every thrust he gave, it went faster and then slower and faster again, to the climax of their excitement.

They laid down like this, both satisfied and in each other's arms. Andy couldn't avoid but thinking that somehow Sharon had managed to be in what she had just called _his spot_ , but it didn't really matter in that moment. Eventually, his heart had silenced his scared mind and wiped away all his previous worries. He was going to fall asleep with her in his arms, and tomorrow she would have still been there by his side.

* * *

 **Comments and reviews are always welcome.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Parenting skills

**6.15 A.M.**

It was early when Sharon woke up, a thunder suddenly stroked in the sky of Los Angeles. It seemed it was going to be a _wet_ Thanksgiving. She rubbed her eyes puffy with sleep and looked to her side: Andy wasn't in bed! She noticed that he had probably put the blankets on her before he left the room, so she wouldn't get cold.

Sharon decided to get up and go looking for Andy. She couldn't find anything else other than his shirt to put on and it was enough just to cover her torso but it was okay for the moment. He wasn't in the bathroom, because the door wasn't completely closed, and neither in Rusty's room. She finally found him on his recliner in the first room, he had fallen asleep with the light of the lamp on and his glasses still on. The book she had given him was open on his chest. Sharon let out a smile thinking that he really was reading it.

 _I want to be a father example for him._ He told her once. _I know I haven't exactly being the father of the year with my children, any of the years of their lives, but I feel Rusty is a little mine too and I would like him to trust me as a father figure. It's going to be hard, I am sure._

With that thought in her mind, Sharon approached to him to turn off the lamp and put a blanket on him. She tried to slowly take off his glasses and take the book from his chest, she thought about disturbing his sleep with a kiss so he would lose his grip on it. And her plan worked.

Taking the book she saw he was already on chapter two: _Be encouraging, not destructive_. A smile formed on her face thinking of the few times that Andy and Rusty had already engaged head to head about his job as production assistant (or gofer as Andy kept saying) for Badge of Justice, or about his interview with Slider's lawyer. Andy had all his way of thinking and hardly anybody could change his mind on few things, and this didn't play well with Rusty's points of view about life, police and who was lying about what.

Sharon appreciated all Andy's efforts to enjoy the things she loved, and she loved Rusty so he had to love him too. A part of her was sure he loved him as a son more than he would like to admit, but in part she knew he had to force himself to like some behaviors of the boy, those kind of things that his own father would have fixed by slapping him.

It was too late to go back to bed so she decided to go to the kitchen and attempt to make a good breakfast. Their plan was to remove more of Andy's boxes and prepare the Thanksgiving dinner for the night. With her wound, though, it seemed to be harder so she had decided to leave the cooking to Andy and focus on tidying up his stuff.

But this breakfast she wanted to make something and had to be quiet not to wake him up. Ever since his latest health problems he was more careful about eating. He had introduced fruit instead of fat and salty food, accompaigned by milk and cereals to have some carbs. Slowly Sharon had adapted to this type of breakfast too and joined him. She had just started to cut the melon for both of them when Andy's soft voice called her attention from afar, "You're not going to lift a finger, are you?" He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"I plan not to. I didn't even want to hurt my hand in the first place," she finished cutting it in two perfect halves. "Did you sleep on the recliner for most of the night? I woke up and it was cold next to me," Andy had stood up and walked to join her in preparing the meal. He slid his hands from behind her and clasped them on her belly in a hug, making her feel the warmth of his body through her spine, and kissed her on that little spot of skin that came out from his shirt that she was wearing.

"No, but I woke up with a thunder around 4.30 and I didn't want to wake you up," he swallowed a grape. "I have been studying, as you have seen. I have this feeling you will make me go through finals by the end of my reading," he joked. But he wasn't entirely wrong. Sharon would have surely tested his learning from the book, but it would have been more a practice test than a theory one.

"Well either I will do that or not, you will go through a test anyway. You are officially in your first day of living with the Raydor-Beck. As soon as Rusty walks through that door, your job as _dad_ starts," at the word dad Sharon had gestured quotes in the air.

"Looking forward," he bent over the surface of the kitchen island and kissed her smiling. Andy was sure that Rusty hadn't thought of him as a father and he didn't want to impose himself to him as it. The boy had a very corrupted relationship with male figures in his life, when first he grew up without a father and then all of the men his bio-mom had brought home had been violent and aggressive towards him, to culminate in finding out who his biological father was and he hadn't done anything different than all the others.

He also knew that Rusty relied a lot on Provenza's help and suggestions, and he had to admit to himself that in part he was sensitive to the old man taking on that role, even if he actually didn't really accepted a father figure for the boy. All Andy had wanted for most of his life as a divorced man, was a good relationship with his own son, but it never played good. Every step they took forward, was always two step backward. As much as he had tried to make Michael trust him again, his son had always doubted him. With Nicole it was different and it had been a lot easier to make her understand he was another man, and maybe a better father too.

Rusty was his _second chance_ to make something good for his son, or sort of.

Sharon brought Andy back to her attention, "Andy, I know that Rusty can be complicated and some times he is also a little aggressive in his reactions. But I **need** you to understand that all of this," she motioned to indicate their love relationship, "this affects him too. And he is not so inclined to change things often!" Sharon put on the table two plates of fruit for them and moved to the fridge to grab the milk.

Andy was about to reply when Rusty entered the house, "Hello. Are you dressed, can I come him?"

"Speaking of the devil," Andy welcomed Rusty home "Come in, kid-" Sharon gave him a push with the elbow, "Son-" and then a weird questioning look, "Rusty" he finished.

"You are weird," he put his bag on a chair and looked at Sharon. "Is that dressed according to you?" He gestured to her wearing only Andy's shirt. Suddenly Sharon felt embarassed for not trying to find something more covering.

"I don't complain. She looks perfect to me," Andy replied giving Sharon a kiss on her left temple by passing over her to take a seat. "You care to join us?"

"No thanks, I'm going to take a shower and sleep a little more. Gus's sofa isn't very comfortable!" Rusty replied grabbing back his bag from the chair.

"Why would you sleep on his sofa?" Sharon was not naive, she must have known her son had been more intimate with his boyfriend and it wasn't a problem to her, although they had never talked about it. And Rusty had never tried to hide it but nor made it clear by talking about it openly.

"We had a kind of disagreement and I didn't want to come back here and disturb you, or interrupt or whatever you were doing here, guys. It's fine, mom! I will be up in an hour or so to help you for tonight!" He walked down the passage to go to his room, but stopped just close to the door and let them know Gus wasn't coming to the party.

Situation seemed serious to Sharon, if Gus had cancelled it meant the fight wasn't just a _kind of disagreement_ but something serious.

"Should I go and talk to him?" Andy asked Sharon. She nodded. Last thing Rusty had wanted now was being lectured about relationships, fights and such as. He needed time and he probably wasn't going to talk about it by then either. He never wanted to be a problem to Sharon, although for her to see him sad or preoccupied, was a worry anyway.

 **-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

The morning went pretty fast with Andy taking care of the cooking and Sharon emptying his boxes. It wasn't so easy for her though, she had no idea what things meant to him and where he wanted to put them.

They had arranged to share the desk, she had given him two of the drawers on left and he let her have the two on right and the big one in the middle. They had arranged everything already in the bedroom and in the kitchen, and a couple of other times Sharon had tried to persuade him into moving the recliner to storage, but without much success.

"I am not going to find anything compromising among these, am I?" Sharon appeared from the doorpost watching at Andy smiling, while she was holding in her hands his magazines.

"Gosh no. I keep those under my side of the mattress," he said while cutting some carrotts. "Or well your side, don't think I haven't seen what you doing lady. You steal my side every night with your… feminine seduction," he smiled naughty.

Sharon started to have a quick look through the magazines and saw many about fishing, a couple about motors and one that caught her attention immediately, "Now that is an interesting choice of a magazine for a 60 years old man, _gardening_?" She showed him the magazine with an amused look in her eyes, "Would never believe you'd be interested in gardening."

"Gardening, seriously?" Rusty appeared behind Sharon, still rubbing his eyes after his one hour nap.

"We have a green thumb here, Rusty!" Sharon kept going on, mocking him amused by her discovery.

"Ha ha ha, you two are funny. As a matter of fact, yes I enjoy gardening," he had finished cutting the vegetables to go along with his turkey and had moved towards them. "My sponsor suggested a few things to occupy my mind out of the drinking and relax and well, this made it. The hard work and the satisfaction of something to blossom out of it. It's nice," he looked Sharon in the eyes and kissed her softly on the nose. "It's also relaxing. We can put these here, just perfect!" Andy grabbed the magazines from Sharon's hands and placed them on the coffee table, "so anytime I sit on my recliner they are just there to read!" He had a look at Sharon, satisfied by his choice, but her eyes weren't communicating the same excitement. "Or maybe not and you decide where they fit better," he took the magazines and gave them back to her. "Hey _kid_ ," Rusty muttered irritated by that nickname. "I have to run to the store quickly, you want to come along?" He was about to reject his invite but Andy didn't give him a chance to speak, "Perfect, go get dressed. Quick!" Rusty looked at Sharon, who had no clue why Andy was so insistent with him and shrugged with a soft and shy smile showing on her face.

When Rusty was ready to go, Andy put his jacket on and turned to speak to Sharon. "Now _honey_ , I need you to keep an eye on that sauce that's on the fire. It doesn't need anything in particular, just a look over so it doesn't burn." He showed her the timer that he had placed on the counter, "I have set it on 15 minutes, when it rings you have a look at it. If it's dry you add this half glass of water, no more than this, and then you set it on for another 15 minutes. By that time, we should be back." He gave her a kiss, " _Honey_ , please. Last time I left my ex in charge of watching over something, I found the sauce burnt."

Sharon wasn't a master chef, but never in her life had she managed to burn a meal or not remember what to do, given exact instructions. She didn't reply to him, just gave him a slap on his buttock and sent them out. "Have fun!" That was all she said.

She would have had some time to be alone at home and finish what she had started. She had no idea why Andy had insisted so much on taking Rusty with him, but she appreciated the thought of her two men spending some time together. Filling a cup with coffee, she put on some classical music and started to organize Andy's books in her library.

 **-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

Andy sat in front of Rusty at the table of the cafeteria. The run to the store had been very fast, he didn't need more than few spices and a butter pat.

He placed a cup of coffee in front of a very confused Rusty, "What is this about?" he asked sipping from it.

"What? I can't get to spend some time alone with you?" Andy sipped too from his cup, "Okay. Okay. I'll show my cards here, the thing is Rusty that your mother is worried about you, and Gus suddenly cancelling is…"

"That's none of your business," Rusty interrupted him immediately. He was on the defensive and Andy couldn't blame him, he never was mouthy revealing all his feelings and thoughts to everyone.

"Right, it's not. But your mother is a concern of mine, and I don't like to see her worried, when instead it could…" he was interrupted again.

"And you think I enjoy it instead?" He was angry, and it was showing. "I have tried this whole time not to be a problem to Sharon, and it just keeps going back there and she gets worried and everything."

Andy grinned, "You know _kid_ , we need to try and find a way of communicating, because if you interrupt me every time this conversation will never end."

"Maybe if you would stop calling me **kid** , _Lieutenant_ " he replied sarcasticly.

Andy raised both his hands a little as surrending to his words and then clasped them together in front of his mouth, "Fair enough! I will call you Rusty, and you may call me Andy. No labels or ranks, deal?" He offered his right hand to shake and seal it.

Rusty was reluctant but seeing that the guy sitting in front of him was driving back home with him, he had no other choices than accepting. "You spend way too much time with my mother," he took his hand and shook. "Deal!" Taking a deep breath he decided to reveal a little, "look. I don't want to discuss with you my life with Gus, but things have been a little rocky lately and it's…" he cleared his voice and rubbed his forehead, "I get mom is worried, but it's love life I guess. You never argued with your girlfriends?"

Andy burst into a laugh, "Okay let me clear something first. I never had _girlfriends_ , your mom is the only one. I had girls, in a different way that is with Sharon." Rusty nodded showing he got the point, "And back to your question, well my ex and… I don't even think there was a time we hadn't fought," he took his last sip from the cup. "It wasn't rocky between us, it was a whole luna-park only made of roller coasters!" Andy motioned Rusty to hurry with his coffee or they would be late to get back home and Sharon had no further instructions for the sauce on the fire.

Rusty made a grimace and finished his coffee, as they stood up and walked out of the cafeteria he then asked, "Then why did you marry her?" They both entered the car and fasten their seat belts, Andy turned on the engine and didn't move for a second, thinking. He didn't want to say the wrong thing to Rusty, make it sound like love is all a wasted thing, but he didn't want to lie to him, in light of their agreement to find better ways of communication.

"Because I was young, and she was beautiful… and pregnant. By then, I was tied to her in an indissoluble bond of responsibility. And then she was pregnant again, and then she was done with me," he exited the parking lot driving towards home. "And I think I actually was done with her long before, I didn't have the courage to say it before she did!" He had a look at Rusty in the seat next to him, thinking seriously to his words, "Hey don't get me wrong! Amanda is a wonderful woman, a bit particular in her way of irritating me but she is great. And if we hadn't met and been together I wouldn't have my children. I am not proud of the drinking and screwing up with my family, but I am of my kids." Andy made sure that Rusty understood the point. All that had happened to him in his life, had brought him to the man he was today, and even the bad things had helped him to grow up and do better choices for himself.

It passed a few minutes before they arrived home and Rusty hadn't said a word since, and Andy hadn't forced him into talking. "Did you ever cheat on her?" Rusty asked as they were parking.

"Only with the bottle," he turned off the engine and turned towards him. "I didn't love her, but I respected her." He watched the boy turning his look away, "Is that what happened with Gus? He cheated on you?" Rusty nodded whispering a pale _no_. "Look, I don't know how it goes with two guys, I have only dealt with women in my life, but you can talk to me Rusty, I won't judge you. I never did!"

Rusty took a deep breath, "He is not dating another guy but I think he may like one?"

"Okay, here is the thing. I am dating your mom and I love her. Also I am not blind to the existence of other attractive women," Rusty looked at him with a questioning look. "What I mean is that your mother knows I look at other women, but I love her and I'm faithful to her, and I would never screw up my relationship with her for a kiss or a one-night stand." He looked at the boy disgusted by the thought of him and sex. "Hey, don't look at me like that. It's part of life. Anyway, talk to Gus; there is nothing that can't be solved with a good and sincere talk," he tried to reassure him by putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing a little.

Andy didn't say more, he learnt from Sharon that the more the boy was pushed to talk, the more he would have closed in on himself. He just climbed out of the car and locked it. But suddenly Rusty blocked him by the arm, "Please don't say anything of this to mom, I want to tell her when I'm ready." As they walked inside the building, Andy gestured his lips were zipped and that he wouldn't have said a word to Sharon.

Waiting at the elevator Andy looked at Rusty, "Hey when I said before I am proud of my kids," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't worry! I won't tell mom you said it." Rusty replied

"No, no not what you think. She knows that. I mean," he let out of a breath. "I wasn't talking only of my two, you know, I meant also… you. Somehow!" Both were very nervous. Rusty wasn't expecting Andy's words and Andy was nervous to say them.

They didn't say much until arriving to the floor, and coming out from the elevator Rusty was just a little behind Andy. "I'm not calling you _dad_!" He said.

"I wasn't expecting so," Andy put the key in the key hole and before he opened it, "That would be way too weird, anyway!" He eased the tension as he was very well trained to do.

Entering the condo, they heard the classical music going on and looked around, "Sweet baby Jesus, we have only been away for," Andy had a look at his watch "twenty-seven minutes. You're the Flash, _honey_!"

Sharon was running back and forth with emptied boxes to put away "Thanks," she gave him a fugitive kiss while putting another box away, "and don't swear!" Andy moved with the shopping to the kitchen and had a look at his sauce. It was coming on perfectly and Sharon hadn't messed up, he was glad about it.

"How did it go?" Sharon was whispering while asking Rusty about his short outdoor activity with Andy.

"Good," he took the box from her hands. "He is… He is a cool guy, _mom_!" Sharon smiled. She wasn't sure what they actually had been talking about, but knowing Andy and that he wanted to talk to Rusty ever since knowing he had an argument with Gus, he surely had approached to the topic somehow. Knowing that Rusty wasn't angry at him, made her heart at peace. This living together and Andy coming into their lives like a serious father-figure for him, was going in the right direction.

"Hey Rusty!" from behind the walls of the kitchen Andy raised his voice to make himself heard, "How are you at cooking?" he asked.

"I don't like burnt stuff," Rusty replied and taking off his jacket he joined him in the kitchen.

Ever since he started to live with Sharon, Rusty hadn't minded cooking. He was used to taking care of himself and his mother, so treating Sharon on late work nights or early breakfasts had been his duty and pleasure. He felt he needed to give back a little in his own way. And Sharon seemed to appreciate. Now she had two men doing this for her.

Once she removed all the boxes and had placed all his books in the library, she stopped a moment to hear the noises from kitchen: it was cutlery, and mixer and their laughs. Rusty was not a boy of sports or fishing, or reparing old cars like Andy liked, but they may have just found one thing in common they could share. And this made Sharon extremely happy.

* * *

 **Comments and reviews are always welcome.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Thanksgiving

**Saturday, 5.30 P.M. – Thanksgiving**

The morning and early noon had passed quickly. After their short run to the store and talk, Andy and Rusty were fully dedicated to the cooking. The boy showed real talent and interest, and it was making Andy very happy. In the past he had tried to involve Nicole into cooking, but it turned out that his daughter had no real interest in the hobby, and that at home it was her husband who actually did the cooking.

Rusty instead seemed very comfortable moving around the kitchen, and Andy also discovered a synchrony in movements he would never imagine to have with him. They never stepped onto each other, or crash into each other. "The pumpkin pie is perfect, Rusty." He said complimenting the boy proudly. Rusty hadn't replied with words, had just smiled and moved onto the cranberry jelly. While Andy was skiming the sauce, he had a look at the boy focusing so much on his actions. "Hey, if your career as a journalist gets to a dead point, you have another option. That's really great, _son_!" Again that word. He had said it before, and Sharon had immediately looked at him for it. It was rushed, and wrong and made Rusty feel uncomfortable. Surprisingly to all the people in the house, though, this time it was different.

The old Rusty would have made a cheeky comment, that would force Sharon to intervene in a dispute that for sure would have broke out between the two. Rusty wasn't an easy spirit, but Andy wasn't less of a hot head when it was about replying with tone. This time, instead, he didn't say anything other than a soft _thank you_ , and deep down Sharon had felt, or better hoped, it was the sign of a change and a more united relationship between her two men.

"I am not sure I want to go on with journalist, after all!" Rusty was still taking care of the jelly but he let out this confidence to Andy.

"How so?" Andy felt good about it. He was opening up and making him part of his ideas, it felt comforting, it felt reassuring, it felt like family.

"I am getting interested in the law," he said.

From afar in the corridor Sharon let out of a word, "Please don't!"

Andy smirked, "What your mother means to ask is if you are really sure. That is a very complicated and corrupted world,"

"Hobbs is not corrupted!" He pointed out.

"No, it's true! But Andrea works for the district attorney, directly with us. Being on your own is totally different," Sharon appeared with two of Andy's ties, one blue and one purple.

"Purple," Andy pointed, "She is right Rusty. But you may talk to her about an internship or something," he had a look at Sharon who opening her eyes wide and nodding. "But only after you finish college," she nodded again, satisfied with their working together as a team, "You know stay in school, don't do drugs, that stuff!" He finished, ruining his previous good efforts.

"No risks there, I am going to stay well away from drugs," Rusty snort-laughed.

"And…?" Sharon was looking closely at Andy's choice of his tie.

"And I'll stay in school and finish my studies. I know, Sharon. I know. Believe me I want to finish it," he had finished his job on the jelly and had wrapped it with a transparent film to keep it solid and put in the fridge before guests arrived. "I just.. I want to be helpful. The whole Alice story had put a lot of pressure on me and had me thinking. What if a lousy lawyer had defended Slyder instead? What if the truth never came out because of plots and corruption?" Sharon was looking at the young man that less than five years before they had found half naked, lying to the system and not trusting it, or her. That young man that she had immediately loved as her own and slowly helped to become the man who was standing in front of him now. "You told me once that by the time it was your time to finish your studies, you loved the law more than lawyers and liked to help people," he went closer to her. "I want this. I want to help them," he paused "I want to be like you, but in my own way." He concluded making Sharon's a little teary and emotional.

Andy listened to it all without saying a word or making a whisper, "Well, at least we know he cannot be worse than a certain _dirtbag_ I don't like to name," he lightened the conversation his own way. Sharon let a soft smile spreading on her face and covered it with a hand not to burst into laughter. She knew he was talking about Jack.

The ring of her phone interrupted their moment and Sharon ran to pick it up. On her display appeared the name _Emily_ , and she smiled.

A few minutes later, Sharon showed up in the room with three of her purple dresses and her laptop. "Please, tell me you don't do a striptease online to earn more money," Andy was left alone in the kitchen to finish some of the cooking, while Rusty had gone to take a shower and get ready. Guests were due to arrive at 6.30, there wasn't much time left for all of them to get ready on time.

"Ha! Funny you are," she made an annoyed face. "Emily is video calling in a minute, I wanna ask her advice on how to dress."

"Oh, _Love_. Whatever you wear looks great on you. Just go like this, it's fine too!" He left his cooking for a moment to get close to Sharon and give her a kiss. By spending the whole afternoon cooking with Rusty, they hadn't had a moment to be a little romantic.

"Andy," she almost whispered his name when parting from his lips. Andy hummed in reply, "I am naked in my lingerie," she pointed out more annoyed now than she was from his previous joke.

"Well," he kissed her forehead and went back behind the kitchen island. "That might be a bit inconvenient with guests, I see!"

It hadn't passed more than two minutes and Emily had called as promised, but she had brought along in the conversation a surprise. "Hey mom," at the sight of Ricky in a smaller window on her laptop she sighed with happiness. It had been a long time since they had done their last conference call, and while she had been in touch with Emily more often lately, Ricky had been working and travelling non-stop and it had all reduced to goodnight and goodmorning messages.

"Mom don't get scared, there's a Grizzly behind you. Don't move!" Ricky said

"Richard!" Sharon moved to Andy and gave him a kiss on the cheek while caressing his hair, "He is cooking for us all, isn't he cute?"

"Okay, he's a Teddy Bear," Andy made a mocking laugh at his jokes. "But quiet he could be ferocious, step back from him slowly,"

"Ricky, stop!" Emily told him off, "Okay mom, these outfits?"

Sharon hurried to pick them up and put on the first dress. She didn't close the zip from behind, just wore it and put Andy's tie next to it. "Mom I don't think a tie fits on there," Ricky said.

"Shut up, _monkey_!" Emily shushed him, "It looks nice but not great. Next!" Sharon tried on all her three outfits, pairing with shoes and accessories for Emily to look. For the whole time Ricky mocked them being so _girly_ about it and that a dress is just a dress, and from time to time kept joking about Andy and his hairy chest.

When it finally had been decided which was the perfect outfit for Sharon to match with Andy's, it was time for goodbyes. It was now only 30 minutes before everyone was going to arrive and they still had to dress and Sharon had a little surprise for Andy too. "Okay, if the surprise is a quicky before they arrive I am all for it," he had said and she had put that look that made him think she was even sexier. She had told him, "you will see," and nothing more.

The first to arrive was obviously Provenza with Patrice, "Oh perfect, matching twins here!" He said as he entered, hand in hand with his wife, who showed a wonderful smile and exchanged a hug with Sharon.

"Oh Patrice, you didn't have to," Sharon said taking the baking pan from her hands. They hadn't said to bring other things, but Patrice had made her famous pasta with cheese and pumpkin.

"It is not a problem really, and then I made it mostly for," she pointed to her husband with the head in silence.

"Yeah, old people need soft food to bite," Andy gave a kiss on the cheek to Patrice, "crunching may be hard for them!" He joked on his partner who responded with his usual grunt and made himself comfortable on the recliner.

"See, I told you the recliner was a good thing," Andy whispered in Sharon's ear.

"He is your bestfriend, only for that he's crazy enough to love that thing," she replied sarcastic and muting him.

One by one they all had arrived, and only after Buzz had brought Sharon some flowers, Amy a bottle of wine and so had Mike and Julio, Andy finally noticed that Rusty was missing the counting. "Where's the boy?" He asked. Sharon tried to avoid answering and changed the subject, and thankfully Rusty finally made his entrance with quite some noise.

Andy opened his eyes wide, "Sharon!" He heard tiny voices screaming and two troublemakers running to hug Sharon.

"You buy them things, and they run to your girlfriend first," Andy snorted.

One of the kids though ran to hug him, "Hi grandpa," he said.

Sharon was still laughing and smiling with the youngest hugging her, "Nicole called me a few hours ago. Amanda has suddenly decided to spend Thanksgiving out with her husband and both her and Dean are a little feverish," to the news Andy immediately put down the kid and was running to the phone to call his daughter. "She is fine, Andy. She is fine. But she didn't want to risk the kids getting it too, so for the next few days, we have guests." In the meantime, both of the kids were solidly wrapping around Sharon. They really loved her.

It had happened a few times that she and Andy had spent some time with them, going to the park and at the beach, and they had enjoyed their time there. She had been sweet and caring with them, like they were her own grandchildren, and the kids had also sometimes called her so, but eventually she had corrected them because it wasn't fair towards Andy's ex-wife.

"Okay so we can take our seats, Robin you sit here next to grandpa and this little munchkin sits next to me, okay?" Robin was the eldest, he was 6 and a very sweet and quiet boy. He had just started reading and enjoyed it much, he would spend a lot of time with his father or Nicole practicing it. His favorite story was _The Little Prince_. George, instead was 4 and a fury. He liked to spend a lot of time with his brother, and they had a wonderful relationship, but he loved to run and scream the whole time; he was a lot more _mommy-boy_ than him and loved to constantly hug people and be cuddled. That's why he hung with Sharon more, because she would give him exactly that.

Right now, he was sitting on her lap because he wouldn't be sitting quiet on the chair and that was the only way to make him calm. "And you, George, what are you thankful for?"

The boy thought a few minutes to what to reply and then looking right through Sharon's green eyes he said, "Umm. Your hugs?" He hugged her tightly and Sharon hugged him back.

Before they started eating, one by one, they had said something they were thankful for. Amy had been thankful for having learnt so much in the division since her joining them, from their experience and their help, she was becoming a better detective. Buzz had been thanful for the support and help they showed and gave during his hard time, solving the murder of his father and uncle. Provenza had been thankful for Patrice's recipe, and everyone had laughed at it, and Andy hadn't missed the chance to mock him for that. Patrice, herself, had been thankful for marrying Louie and met good friends to share the day with. Mike and his family had been thankful for the time together with friends, in fun and peace. Julio had been thankful for everyone backing him up on with social care for his will to adopt a kid. Rusty had been thankful for both Sharon and Andy for being patient with him, and putting up with his bad reactions, and letting him out of the dressing and cooking madness to pick up the boys.

Andy had asked Robin what he was thankful for and he had replied with a shy nod of the head, hiding behind Andy's arm.

"What about you, Captain?" Provenza asked.

Sharon thought for a small while. She thanked them for joining them tonight, and bringing joy and laughter, and the God for giving her three beautiful children who always warmed her heart with love and presence, even if two of them weren't really there. She thanked Robin and George, for being there too and hugged the little one tighter, "And I'm thankful for Andy, who in good or bad always backs me up, standing by my side, and showing me that even a _wicked witch_ like me can be loved unconditionally," she was looking at him right in the eyes and smiling, and then Andy leaned to kiss her.

"Flynn is thankful for her, we can eat now!" Provenza broke the sweetness of the moment, with Patrice holding his arm from grabbing the food and nodding to him.

"You're right, I am." Andy said to his partner, "I am thankful for Sharon, because she puts up with all of me that is messed up and bad. I am **very** thankful for Sharon, for accepting me and my heavy baggage into her home," Sharon coughed an _our_. "Yes our. She took me with my family," he gestured the two little boys, "and made it hers. But I am also thankful to all of you. Besides Amy and Patrice," he looked around "and well Sharon and Rusty, I was the last one to join the group, and the team. We didn't have all highs but I am thankful we are all a group now, solid and helping each other," in the background Provenza was muttering some _bla bla bla_. "Also, I am stupidly thankful for my partner," Andy said with a voice at clenched teeth, "who puts me in messy situations from which I have to pull ourselves out and he never says _thank you_!" Everyone was hardly containing the laughter.

"You're welcome, Flynn!" Provenza replied. He couldn't contain it anymore and he grabbed the pasta in front of him to put a good part of it in his plate. It was clear the time for thanks was over and he had _opened the dances_ to eat.

George was still sitting on Sharon's lap, "Why does he call grandpa Flynn? That is my mommy name too,"

Sharon was replying to him but got interrupted by Provenza himself, "Because nobody knows my first name and nobody can use it," he looked over at Patrice. "Well, she can."

Andy leaned closer to George whispering, "We all know his name, it's Louie!"

"It's Lieutenant," Provenza thundered. He was now looking at Andy, "He doesn't have to know my name. He's not going to call for me anyway. Nor I am going to answer him. The less that know my name, the better it is for everyone,"

"Oh yeah, a 4 year old may sell you and your whole undercover mission out. That's something to fear," he replied sarcastic. "Call him Louie, kid. And if he says something send him to me, I'll punish him!" Andy winked to George and the boy in return replied with _boom, boom_ acting out a fight.

The dinner went well with laughter and jokes and much fun. When it was time for a coffee, Sharon was bouncing a sleepy George in her lap. He had made himself very comfortable using her breasts as a pillow and playing with a lock of her hair that was falling from the shoulder. "He is totally knocked out, I can take him to bed if you want," Andy was offering to get George from her hands but Sharon nodded.

"I will take them to bed, you make coffee for everyone. Robin? You come with?" The boy followed without questioning, he wished good night to everyone and grabbed a portion of Sharon's dress in his tiny fist. Her hands were all wrapped around George. They entered Rusty's room, where Sharon had arranged the boys to sleep in his bed. She put George down and grabbed the bags Nicole had sent over with Rusty, "You can dress yourself?" She asked Robin who nodded. She then began to undress and put the pajamas on George who was sleeping so peacefully. She put them to bed and gave both a kiss on their foreheads. "If you need anything we will be in the living room, or in the bedroom right in front of this room, okay?" Robin nodded whispering good night and he put his head down on the pillow to sleep.

Sharon stood a moment by the door, watching them sleep and her heart melted. It was already a good 30 years that two little munchkins had spent time in there, and she had stood by that door for nights watching them sleeping. She left the door half open and went back to her guests, with little teary eyes.

"Hey, what's up?" Andy went immediately to her as she joined them again and held her in a hug.

"Just emotional," she replied wiping the tears away. "They are so sweet, sleeping in the bed," she then said. "And they will be gone in a few days," she finished.

Andy put his left arm around her shoulders, now they were standing watching all their friends at the table while sipping their coffees and laughing. He kissed her right temple, "Another thing to be thankful for," he paused. "They are wonderful, and perfect, and sweet and sleeping. But for just that short time we will be able to stay behind them, and then they go away to scream in the house of someone else," Sharon burst into a laugh, knowing he was right. They were sweet kids, they made their lives joyful and noisy, and they were going away to leave and give them some peace and quiet in a few days. Yes, something to be thankful for.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Recliner

Weeks had become months, and after spending a wonderful Christmas at home with all their children reunited, under a beautiful tree full of angels, the new year had approached too and it had passed in the office, overloaded with crime cases. It was so stressed that Sharon had sent Rusty to New York to spend it at least with Emily, and was happy to know that Ricky had joined them too.

They had been looking for a house, but yet nothing was exactly what they wanted. And it was starting to frustrate the both of them. "Andy, are you okay?" Sharon walked out from her office to find Andy rubbing his neck and trying to stretch his shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah. This case is stressing me. I barely sleep at nights!" He had stopped with the rubbing and was holding her hand. "But don't worry I am fine."

"Ehh, Captain," Provenza went closer. "I think we are all not doing much here, it's getting late and maybe it would be better if we could all go home and get some rest, maybe at fresh mind tomorrow…" Sharon agreed. They were on this case now for three days already, and at late hours, with all the fatigues of the day before and late nights, nothing was coming anywhere near to the conclusion.

As soon as he had collected his stuff, Andy knocked at her door. He had been doing this on a daily basis, even before they had started to **officially date**. He always took her bag with her laptop and walked with her to the parking lot where their cars were and then separate. At the beginning, it had started as a way to make her feel somewhat more accepted in the division, later it became a sign of friendship, and later on it had become their _love affair_ routine, for a fugitive moment in which their hands would have had contact to each other, without anyone suspecting anything. "Ready to go?" He said entering and trying to grab her laptop bag.

"Yes, but allow me this time," Sharon had instead put her bag on her shoulder and grabbed Andy's things with her. She was concerned about his health and it wouldn't be so exhausting to bring her own stuff by herself for once.

Andy had tried to resist and convince her he could handle a bag but she had been insistent. "Okay," he replied to her, "but I drive home!"

It was a silent drive, Sharon had fallen asleep in the seat and hadn't even noticed Andy making a stop to grab some take out food. Despite being a very sensitive case making them scratch their heads constantly, she had been exhausted that at some point her body had just surrended to tiredness and shut down on itself. When Andy parked and turned off the engine, she finally woke up.

In the elevator, Andy had eventually managed to take her bag from her hands, as Sharon was laying her head with her eyes closed on his shoulder. "I am so tired I think I will go straight to bed," she whispered. "I don't even want to get changed into my pajamas," they reached their floor and Andy was keeping his arm around her waist.

"Can you take this?" He gave her the bag of food.

"When did we stop to buy chinese?" She questioned looking at the small boxes in the bag.

"Around your third and fourth noisy snoring in the car," he replied mocking her.

The house was empty, all lights turned off and it felt cold with no sign of life. They hadn't spent much time in it the past days.

Sharon closed the door behind her back and pointing her finger, still handling the bag, she said to Andy, "I do not snore, Andrew Flynn!" And she walked to the kitchen to turn on the lights and leave the bag on the counter.

"Ouch, full name. I am in big troubles!" He was being sarcastic, but he knew that Sharon only used full names when she was mad at someone. In this case, he knew she was only pretending to be mad at him, or probably too tired to actually be angry at him. With a smile on his face he pulled out the boxes from the bag, "Why don't you go and sit on the couch? I thought we can eat a little more comfortable tonight, and relax our old buttocks on there," he said grabbing some forks.

"Who are you calling old?" Sharon folded her arms

"Weren't you the one who could barely walk in the hall? How is it possible you are so awake right now?" He reached the coffee table and put down the food, while gesturing her to please sit on the couch.

"Because someone just said I have an old ass," she sat down but far away from him.

"Oh trust me no one is complaining about your ass, on the contrary everyone is…" he had a look over at her face and she looked in the mix of annoyance, surprised and very much angry. "This is probably a great moment to tell you I love you **so much** that words can't even describe, and that I would do **anything** for you."

"Great," she said with a high note of excitement in her voice. "Start with not saying anything more and," before he could grab his food, she had removed her shoes and put her feet on his legs. "Start massaging!"

Andy had obeyed without further discussing, thankfully he had eaten a snack at work before. He knew Sharon hadn't instead, and she was very hungry at the moment; while she was eating her ravioli he started to move his fingers with energy on her right foot.

Sharon hummed every time he touched a sensitive point on it, "Just so you know," she said swallowing a bite. "This is my idea of porn. Food and you massaging my feet," she had that naughty look that made him crazy.

"Well, we can make it hotter in here if you want," Andy slowly slid to her side, caressing her leg with his hand as he moved closer to her lips. As soon as he was a breath away from her lips, Sharon put a bite from her plate in his mouth and pushed him back.

"The other foot," she said still smiling at him snorting.

"Ah Sharon, you are going to kill me," he sat back in his place and moved on to massaging her left foot. Sharon was still laughing. "You talk about porn, all sexy and then you reject me. My poor heart, it can't take it!"

"Although," she had finished her meal and placed the empty plate on the coffee table, "I am feeding you!" Sharon went closer to him with a piece of roulade for him, "I cannot leave you starving," her voice had gone soft and deeper, and her eyes opened wide while she was rubbing her nose against his. Andy tried to swallow his bite as faster as he could, while Sharon started tracing kisses along his neckline.

As soon as he had finished, Andy streched with Sharon on the sofa, on top of her, while his hands wandered up her legs towards her hips. "I thought you said never on the sofa," he whispered.

"I am too **old** and tired to walk to the bedroom right now," she replied in another whisper while smiling to him.

They started to kiss passionately, like their lives depended on it, and Sharon's long and slender fingers ran through his shirt's buttons to throw it on the floor a few seconds after. The touch of her hands on his bare naked skin was the best feeling he could feel.

He loved her and he knew she loved him as well, but the way he loved her was more and beyond the simple physical need or his heart talking, it was something he never remembered to have experienced. It was that feeling of missing her when she wasn't near, and breathing when she gave him a smile. He had never noticed before, but it had happened long before they started to date or even being just friends; he had found himself smiling when she arrived at work, greeting everyone; and many times during the day he had turned on his chair just to see her, she had been busy writing her papers and never noticed he was looking, but he could have stayed there for long hours, if only the old man hadn't yelled at him to focus back on the case. Andy loved Sharon, and even more he loved to discover her little by little.

Positions had switched, Andy was now sitting, naked on the sofa and Sharon rocking her hips on him. It seemed like food wasn't the only thing she had been hungry for.

He was fully naked, while she still had her blouse on, unbuttoned and showing her black bra. Andy helped her in taking them off and now her beautiful body was fully on show to his eyes; she had a pale skin, and it was warming up on his touch and the thrusts, and it was perfect. His hands were solidly placed on her hips, helping the movements of her body, "Andy," she whispered with a very sensual voice and that was enough for him to quickly slide onto her, gently letting her slip down on her back, and then he started to move again. One hand gripped on the back of the sofa, and another holding her left naked breast; he leaned down to kiss her as his movements grew faster, close to his orgasm.

When he started to slow down, with just the sound of their breathing which synched together as though they were one. "I love you," Andy whispered so close to her beautiful smile. He kept on kissing her lips and suddenly Sharon bursted into a laugh. He moved away from her, "Well, I certainly hadn't expected this reaction,"

"No, no Andy it's not," she couldn't contain her laughter. When finally she peaced her enthusiasm she explained to him, "I was thinking we just jumped on each other as high school kids do on their first experience and," she started to laugh again. "Think if someone had walked through the door," Andy showed a shy smile on his face, he got her point but it was still not funny to be laughed at. "I am sorry sweetheart, it was fantastic and you are. I love you. Really," she was caressing him. "But I think it's better we keep our _antics_ for the bedroom," she started to kiss him on the lips. Andy still had his eyes open and watching at her. "Andy, I am sorry I laughed at you. It wasn't for you. The whole situation made me laugh," she noticed he still wasn't so sure about her words. Sharon grabbed her blouse from the floor and put it on; Andy followed her. "I am so sorry, _honey_. I really didn't mean to. I love you so much," she wrapped into his hug.

"I guess it's okay, I just… didn't expect that reaction and it shocked me a little," he closed his grip on her body more tightly. Andy took a few moments to think about what she said before, "You know," he was now looking her in the eyes. "You are right, it's very funny. Maybe it's better if we keep it in our bedroom," he kissed her.

When they parted Sharon started to smile, "You said _our_ ," she noted.

 **-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

The weeks passed, and still no sign of a good house. Work had still been its intense hours and Sharon and Andy was spending less and less time together at home. They arrived always so exhausted only to have a the energy just to eat something, get ready for the night and pass out in bed.

Andy had finally surrended and given Sharon back her side of the bed, and as much as she had told him _no, honey that's yours now_ , he had insisted he actually found the other side quite comfortable. Lying to Sharon wasn't in his plans for a good relationship with her, but a small white lie to make her happy, he had allowed himself to say it.

The biggest problem for Sharon was that not only hadn't they been intimate for more than three weeks now, but that even that small chance of intimacy they had, had been wiped away by Andy spending his nights on the recliner. She always fell asleep in his arms, and constantly woke up without him by her side, and he was instead in the living room. Sharon hated that recliner for more than one reason: it was esthetically horrible, totally unmatching to the rest of the furniter, impossibly hard to clean and most importantly it was a serious trouble-maker for her only moments alone with Andy. Besides it had attracted Provenza like bees and honey.

The old man had been visiting them more and more often, from the usual Sundays of football, to the dinners with Patrice, and he had always been sitting on the recliner saying, "We need one at home, Patrice!" And Sharon had always motioned her friend to never go under that dark path with the recliner, or he would have done even less than what he was already doing. Or wasn't.

That night, Sharon had woken up all of a sudden and this time she was determined to get her man back in the bed. She didn't even need to check if he was elsewhere, she **knew** he was in the living room and that was exactly where she found him: sitting on the recliner, reading his magazine.

She grabbed it from his hands and put it on the coffee table. After a few weeks of moving them away from it, Sharon had given up and let Andy leave them on the coffee table, or the floor if he preferred, she was done trying to change his habit. "Come with me," she said taking his hand and guiding him towards the bedroom.

"Yes, ma'am!" Andy hadn't objected. They entered the room and Sharon closed it behind her, motioning him to go on the bed; she had then walked to it and sat down, right in front of him. "Sharon, I…" she put a finger on his mouth to silence his words.

"Do you love me?" She only asked.

"Of course I do, _Love_." He didn't need time to think, he was sure of his reply.

"Andy," she let go out of a breath. "I let you move the things in the kitchen, because they had to fit your cooking and style of organizing them. I don't cook that much, it's your reign in the house and I let you do it. You said you wanted a tv in the bedroom, and I hate to have it but I let you bring it in, and you barely even watch it in bed." She was now holding his hands in hers, trying to reassure him it wasn't a scolding, just making him notice things. "You didn't like the way the table was set so we moved things around for you to like it. You put your magazines on my coffee table,"

"Our coffee table," he corrected her as she always did with him when he said _yours_ instead of _ours_.

" **The** coffee table. You do that, I don't like it but I accept you doing it." She took a breath and kept going, "you brought that horrible, horrible clothes-stand with the penguine because your grandsons gave it to you, and honestly Andy it's horrible-I know I said it isn't-but it's horrible. But it's okay, it was a gift, you like it and it's hidden here in the bedroom where no one else will ever see it. But please, please Andy let me get rid of that recliner." He was still holding her hands, listening to her reasons. He hadn't said much more, "I love you, Andy. And-I cannot believe I am saying this-I am losing you to a chair." Now it was Sharon to let go of his hands and move away from the bed. She was actually ashamed of her rant before, for pointing out all of the things she had done for him, all of the changes, and Sharon hated changes. "You don't even sleep with me anymore, Andy. And I don't mean just falling asleep in the bed, I mean also," she sighed, "do you remember when it was last time we made love?"

Andy had some thinking, "It can't be that long ago, how long can it be, a week maybe. A week and few days." He then replied.

"It's three weeks, and two no, three days!" She had a quick look at the alarm on her nightstand and midnight had passed since a few hours ago. "I miss you," she said. "I miss your body, how you always warm me up because I am always cold. I miss that you whisper _I love you_ in my ears because you think I'm sleeping,"

"Oh, you heard that!"

"Yes! I heard that. I heard it the last time you said, and all the previous times. I heard it. And I will admit that I love to hear it, and that's why I never turned to say that I love you too. I love to hear you saying you love me." In the meantime, Andy had moved closer to her. He was now holding her from behind, and both were swinging watching out of the window.

He placed a kiss on her neck, on the naked skin that was showing from her robe, "I love you," he whispered. Sharon stood there, in his hug and smiling. "I will move the recliner to storage with the kid, first thing tomorrow." He only heard a feeble _thank you_ coming from her, before they both moved into the bed to sleep. It was very late and the alarm would have rung in a few hours.

As promised, the morning after, Andy had given Rusty instructions to move the recliner into his storage; he had given him the code to the electronical locker and twenty bucks for the help.

By the time they returned to the condo in the evening, Sharon's old sofa-chair, that had been moved to Rusty's bedroom to make space for the recliner, had been placed back in its place, in front of the coffee table, like its twin matching one was on the other side. Sharon was very pleased and relieved to see that.

As soon as they had entered and turned on the lights, Andy moved to the coffee table and grabbing his magazines he put them in one of his drawers in the desk. Sharon smiled, knowing he was doing that only because she had confessed the night before.

It wasn't as late as previous nights, finally they were getting closer to a conclusion on their case and Andy had decided to treat themselves a little tonight, with a homemade dinner. "Go and take a shower, love. I'll do the cooking. We meet here in one hour!" Andy sent her to relax.

"Do I have to dress elegant?" She asked.

"Naked is preferred,"

"Rusty and Gus are having dinner with us," she replied.

"Then I guess we will need to be dressed, yeah!" He hadn't planned to have an intimate dinner, most probably Rusty would have been home and he was happy to hear that Gus was joining them again for dinner. On the other hand, having Sharon for himself and possibly naked, was a very appealing thought.

As they were just talking, Rusty entered the house with Gus greeting them both. "Oh, now I have to cook with my shirt on," they only heard a _thank you_ from Rusty coming from afar from his bedroom.

Sharon had smiled, closing herself in the bathroom for her relaxing hot bubbles bath.

 **Two hours later…**

Dinner had gone great. The food was delicious and the company very entertaining; two hours had passed fast in laughter and jokes on Rusty's hair. Sharon was happy to see her son more relaxed and that everything seemed to be going good with his boyfriend, but also she was very surprised at how comfortable Andy seemed around the two of them, discussing their plans for a week-end out of town, and he participated with suggestions and opinions without any problem.

"Goodnight," Sharon and Andy greeted Gus as he walked out of the door and immediately after Rusty who vanished in his bedroom.

"He thinks we are going to make out right away," Sharon said to Andy while starting to clear the table.

"Oh, but we agreed to keep it going just in our bedroom," Andy was giving everything a wash before he put them in the dishwasher. "Kids," he concluded. Sharon laughed to his last affirmation, he sounded so much like Provenza at times. A _cranky_ old man.

The night went really smooth. They hadn't made love, but there was some kissing and he whispered his magic words into her ear and they fell asleep like this: Andy hugging Sharon, making her feel warmer and secured in his arms.

The rain had come to wet the town again, and another thunderstorm disturbed Sharon's sleep. She woke up and moving to her side, she noticed Andy was missing again. But now he couldn't be on his recliner. Something looked weird, though. Rubbing her eyes to see more clear, she noticed that his pillow wasn't there either, and a part of the blanket was all reversed on the floor from his side. She followed that line and popping up from the mattress, she met with Andy's eyes.

"Hello," he said. His voice trembling with pain.

"Andy, did you fall from the bed?" He was laying down, his pillow behind his head, his back on the floor and his legs drew up.

"No," he was trying to stretch his back.

Sharon hurried to get up and moved to him, she bent down on her knees next to him and put a hand on his chest. She was worried he was having a heart attack, or that his blood pressure had gone too high and he was feeling bad.

Andy unfolded his leg on the floor and put his hand on Sharon's back, "Honey, I can't sleep on your mattress," he confessed. The reason why Andy had spent more than three weeks on the recliner, was that Sharon's mattress was too soft, and with his injuries, and health problems it had become very hard to sleep on it. He needed a better position, one where he was on a more rigid surface and a bent position.

"Oh Andy, I had no idea. Why haven't you told me?" Sharon stood up and moved to her side of the bed. She moved the blanket to cover him fully and went back to him.

"It is your bed and I didn't want to bother you," he noticed she was trying to make some space for her by his side. "I figured I just had to get used to it, but with time passing it was harder and harder," Sharon now had wrapped his arm around her and put her head on his chest. "What are you doing, _Love_?"

She curled up in the blankets and clasped her legs to his, "I am sleeping here by your side. Your pain is my pain," she held tight to his torso.

"And **my** uncomfortable position should be **your** uncomfortable position? Sharon please, go back to bed. I don't want you to be in pain tomorrow. Tell you what," he tried to stand up but a long shiver of pain ran through his back. "Please, sweetheart!" He tried to convince her to move back to bed. Laying on the floor was a very unpleasant situation and she shouldn't have gone through it because his old cranky body was turning against his own younger soul.

In the background of thunders rumbling in the city of Los Angeles, Sharon felt protected by Andy. "The recliner is coming back to the condo, first thing tomorrow!" Andy couldn't avoid but smiling at the sound of those words.

"You don't have to, Sharon! It doesn't fit the style of the house, and you don't like it. It's okay, I can…"

"Shh, shh!" Sharon stretched out long his side, close to his ear. "I love you," she whispered.

Andy couldn't say much more but surrendered to her stubborness, and after she had told him what he said to her every night before she fell asleep, he held her in his arms, while her head was resting on his chest and let himself falling asleep. His breathing was a lullaby in Sharon's ears.

* * *

 _ **Some explanation: for the first time EVER I tried to make a little sex-scene description. I don't write smut. I don't even write sex at all, but I wanted to try.**_

 _ **Also I wanted to explain that it's not cleared who rejected who during those 3 weeks and 3 days but I just needed something to bring up tension with them and a reason for Sharon to hate that recliner even more. (Sorry I normally write Angst, I had to make a little drama in the rain for the sun to shine bright again :P)**_

 **Comments and reviews are always welcom** e.


	8. Chapter 8 - New House

The day had passed quite fast, and finally they had put an end to the complicated case that had been making them all miserable for weeks. "I cannot believe that we are going to go home at a decent hour tonight," Andy and Sharon were standing by the elevator, ready to go home.

"Captain," Provenza was walking closer to them.

"Too good to be true," Andy muttered in a whisper.

"Ah Captain," the old man quickly moved to them with short breath. "Monday night, I am doing a little surprise party for Patrice, you know it's her birthday," he rubbed his neck. "I know it's your movie night but I was hoping that you may,"

"It will be a pleasure to be there, Lieutenant. Is there anything we can cook or do to help,"

"No Captain, thank you. Just your presence will be fine, thank you." He waved goodbye while walking away.

"The invite is extended to me too, I guess?" Andy was shouting to his partner who muttered nervously.

"Why do you always have to tease him like that?" The elevator reached their floor, and as they were entering Sharon pressed the button for the parking lot in the garage.

"I am getting older, let me have my little joys," the doors closed and Andy leaned into Sharon. Day by day it was getting much harder not to kiss her at work, at every moment he desired to. "Hey gorgeous," he was charming and fascinating and he had that smile that sent Sharon crazy.

They walked out of the elevator, with Andy holding her around her thin waist. "You think Rusty has brought my recliner back in?" They entered the car and, as every day since months now, Andy was driving. "I want to sit down on it, and just relax!" He finished.

Sharon looked at him, with an annoyed look, "Please, don't make me regret having said **yes** to this _thing_ again," she secured her seat belt. "Let's go home, I need a shower and something to eat, I'm starving!"

Andy grabbed her hand with his free one, and brought it to his lips to kiss. "Focus on driving, Lieutenant!" Sharon's head was reclined on the headrest, her eyes closed and a smile expanding on her face.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He put both his hands on the steering wheel, obeying to her order.

It had been a few minutes, and when they stopped at a red light he noticed that Sharon chest was moving quietly and she had taken off her heels, it was clear that she was resting and she needed it. He decided not to disturb her until they reached home.

Rusty had indeed brought the recliner back in and placed it in the living room, where it was before. When they entered the door, Sharon couldn't hide her reaction to seeing it back in there, but knowing that it was for Andy's health she had to learn to like it.

After a nice dinner that Rusty had left in the oven for them, they were now sitting on the sofa, Sharon in Andy's hug and looking at brochures of a few houses they viewed over the week. They had forced themselves into spending their lunch breaks to viewing new houses, and waiting for the perfect one had to come to an end. Right now there were two they were interested in: the first one was only a few miles away from work, which was ideal for them; it had a big backyard with a pool and a patio for nice romantic dinners, or barbeques with friends. The house had a flaw, though: one room less than they had been looking for.  
The second house had all the requirements they were looking for on the inside, with wide spaces and big rooms and the number they were looking for. The garden though it was very small, quite non-existent and Andy had showed some concern about it. He had imagined spending their retirement days, with romantic dinners outside, or reading in the freshness of summer evenings.

Sharon wanted the second house. Andy wanted the first one. "One room less it's no big deal, the kids can share a room for a few days when they visit. They have been sharing one for a long time here!"

"And that is **exactly** why I don't want them to share it again. Andy, I have lived with them. I don't want to live with them, again, if they share one room." She replied. "And this house is also on two floors, I am not convinced," Sharon was dubious. Andy loved the country style of the first house, and that the bedrooms where placed on the first floor, separated from kitchen and living room. Sharon had expressed concern about the stairs, with age progressing it could have been harder for them to do all the stairs every day and this gave some questioning for that house for Sharon.

"You are not seeing the bright side of this," he said. " _Stairs_ means that when Provenza irritates me during the games, I can just walk up to the bedroom. He won't follow. He's too old and too lazy to do it," Andy took the brochure from Sharon's hand.

"But Andy that is not a reason to…"

"Oh Rusty, come here son!" Rusty had just entered the room and Andy had gestured him to come closer and take a seat next to him, "So we have these two options here. There is this cool house with a pool and a big garden, you have your own room and it's far from ours, and a place outside where you can also study with some peace and quiet." Andy showed him the house he loved and filled the description with enthusiasm.

"Or, we have this one. Which has a smaller garden, I admit, but very wide rooms and your brother Ricky and your sister Emily, won't need to share one room when they visit for the holidays. It can be quiet inside too," Sharon showed him the second brochure, and from time to time she gave Andy some looks for trying to play dirty before, by praising his choice. Rusty was trying to have a look at them both, he had understood there was a conflict between his mother and Andy because they didn't like the same house. "And you can have the bathroom in the bedroom," Sharon concluded her presentation, knowing that for Rusty that was a very sensitive case. He hated to share the bathroom with three people, and even just with Sharon it hadn't been easy.

Rusty took some more time to think, "Okay, what about the money?"

"Irrelevant," Andy replied.

"Well not so much, to get your choice we will need to make some adjustements so the basic purchase will be less than the other one, but adding the maintenance works we will need to do before to move in, it will go higher than the other," Sharon objected.

"Yes, but then in the one you like, we will need to make a few adjustements for the outside too, and that will have a cost," Andy clinched.

"Does this house have two bathrooms?" Rusty was pointing to Andy's choice.

Andy nodded, thinking he had the victory in hand. "Well I would have one of my own as well, and just to share with guests or Emily and Ricky, it's appealing." Rusty continued. "I'm sorry, Andy. I can't go against mom. A room for me, a bathroom and wide spaces. I don't really like it that much outside, sorry!" He gave Andy a pat on the back before he moved to the kitchen and grabbed something to drink, and then quickly walked away. Rusty was scared a big fight was going to occur and he didn't want to stay in the middle of it.

Discouraged, Andy threw the brochure away, "Fine! You won. We will arrange another viewing with Rusty for that house," he leaned back on the sofa with a sulky expression.

Sharon slided next to him and lifted up his chin with a finger, "You know what I saw?" he nodded, "I saw that if we cut back the kitchen at some lenghts, we can gain a portion for the garden to enlarge. And there we could put, I don't know a barbeque or some deck-chairs, or-"

Andy had pulled her closer to him. He was now happy and more satisfied by the choice, "Have I told you already that I love you, today?" He gently kissed her nose, and slipped down to her lips. "Now find a way to keep Provenza out of the new house, and I'll be yours forever!"

Sharon got free from his arms, "I thought you were going to be mine forever already,"

"Right, then I will do everything you want and won't object on the house, but keep him out. And away from my recliner,"

Sharon smiled amused. She got up to take away the empty bowls of ice-cream they had eaten before, "You keep complaining about the man, but he is your best friend, just admit it!"

Andy had now moved closer, "I do not deny it. But it needs to be a limit of time we spend together. Also a limit of space. The recliner is mine," his voice turned into one of an annoyed baby.

Sharon burst into a laugh, "Sorry but I cannot take you seriously when you do that voice." She cuddled into his arms, "It will be enough to tell him that there is work to do at home and he won't show up," she heard Andy whispering _genius_ and smiled. "Now, about that part of doing everything I want, there is something I want now," her fingers walked fast long his chest to his lips.

"A promise is a promise. You found a solution, I shall give you all you want," he hummed to the taste of her lips against his, "You are going to kill me, _woman_!"

 **-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

For the whole first part of the morning Sharon had been looking at Andy, through the glass of her office. He was moving his left arm in circles and manipulating on the back of his neck, and fear had not left Sharon's thoughts. He had his checks with doctors just the week before, and aside of a light increase of his pressure, nothing too risky to worry about. He had also asked her, and discussed it with Provenza too, to do less work on the fields and _oh_ how much that had costed him to admit. He wasn't going to be completely absent from it and only do desk-monkey duty, but he wanted to avoid at least where the risk of a _run-and-fight_ situation was going to happen for sure.

Sharon was now looking at her man, still aching from pain and her mind went back to last night. After making love they had fallen asleep, but he had had a restless sleep; she had imagined at some point he was going to get up and go on his recliner, but he hadn't. He had been staying with her the whole night, and Sharon felt guilty for confessing that the chair was keeping them apart, because he was trying to be there with her and at a disadvantage to his own health. She had to do something.

An hour and half later, and three "This is an order, Lieutenant!" Andy and Sharon were out for the day. She had taken the rest of the day off for the both of them, for Andy's medical care and had told Provenza to take the lead, being sure he wanted it badly. But she had underestimated his deep passion for delegating others and not doing any of the job. He had insisted that Andy was only acting to make her heart melt, probably for wanting more sex, and that he was all fine; despite that though she had seen him checking on his partner often, because after all he cared.

Sharon had dragged Andy to the _King of Mattress_ , a store to find a new mattress for his back. If he insisted on pretending that he was sleeping good and wasn't an issue, he would have to pretend it on a better fit for his body.

"Sharon, really this isn't needed. I am fine, I just have to adjust better and find the right position, it's fine," he had complained the whole time. "We cannot afford to spend money relentlessly now that we made an offer on the house," he had kept on going. "We need it all for those works we want to do in the garden,"

"Consider this the anniversary gift," Sharon was looking at descriptions of the products.

"I'd rather have a dinner and make love to you for our anniversary," he commented

"I buy you a mattress, you buy me dinner. We're even,"

"What kind of dinner is this going to be if it has to cost the same as a mattress?" He had a questioning look, "I don't think you can stuff that much food in your tiny beautiful figure,"

"Everything I want Andy, I want a new mattress. Now shut up and look at the descriptions." She let go of his hand and pushed him in the opposite direction to look at descriptions, on the other side from where she was standing. "If we do it in two, this hunting will last half the time," she started to speak slowly as she kept on reading a description, "if instead, you insist on complaining it will last twice the time needed."

It hadn't taken them too much time to find the right pick for them, and Andy had been pleased to see that Sharon had used all her dealing abilities to reduce the total price. She had also managed to arrange for them to pick their old mattress, in return for a cut on the initial price. Still he thought it wasn't a purchase they needed to make now. "Knock it off, Andy! We bought it. Now we have the whole afternoon for us, I would say that we call Maurine for that viewing. Rusty is off from class in an hour, and they won't deliver us the mattress until tomorrow. If it's possible we could have that viewing with Rusty this afternoon and tomorrow you stay home and wait for the delivery," Sharon was driving and as soon as she stopped at a red light, Andy raised his concerns.

"Wait what? I stay home? What about that thing, how is it called? Oh yes, **work** ," he didn't want to wait for a delivery, nor stay at home, sitting there and just doing nothing.

"You have some days off, you need to rest. Your body needs to rest!"

"Who decided I need to rest? I don't remember asking for a few days in," he started to imagine this had been the discussion with Provenza in her office, some hours ago. When he came out of it he had approached asking if he was doing all right, and that was weird.

"I took the decision," Sharon had just started again with the green light. "You may not have noticed, but during the day at work… I'm your boss," she said sarcasticly.

Andy wanted to object but he had learned by now it was impossible. Five years at work and almost two as a couple, he understood it was pointless to argue with Sharon when she had made the decision already. Sometimes he tried, like at the mattress store, but it was inevitably going to end in her favor, doing exactly what she wanted. She had this way to always do the right thing, say the right thing and act the right way, that it sent him mad, but he loved to see the satisfaction in her eyes, when she succeeded to get exactly what she had wanted.

When they finally arrived home and got out of the car, Andy stopped Sharon by the arm before she could enter the building, "Thank you," he smiled and gave her a soft kiss. He had to admit that taking a few days off, to recharge, wasn't a bad idea.

 **-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

The viewing of the house had been even more successful than Sharon had expected. Once that they had crossed the door and Sharon had started to explain to both the men what she wanted to do with furnitures and a few works of adjustement here and there, Andy had been convinced it was the right choice of a house and Rusty had asked when were they going to live in this wonderful place.

Maurine had been sincere with them, the house had other offers, but they were surely on top list for having the best one now. In her heart Sharon had hoped it all went through fast and good, because it was the house she wanted, and because they were too tired to keep looking and viewing more and more houses.

Two days after, Sharon received a call from Maurine and it wasn't happy news for them: someone had placed a higher offer for the house and they were currently second in line. Sharon had been so upset that she almost considered not going to Patrice's birthday party that night, she didn't feel cheerful enough to celebrate.

"Sharon we can make it, we will renounce to a few things," Andy had tried to convince her that everything would have been good and they were going to launch with a higher offer themselves. "We can hold on making those works for the garden for now, it's fine!"

"Andy, no! You wanted that space outside and it's not fair you have to give it up." She was nervous and walking back and forth through the room, "We should have placed an offer on the other house. And now it's too late for that too,"

"Hey, listen!" Andy had stopped her nervous walking and his hands were holding her arms, "Yes I want a space, but I don't **need** it. I lived for two decades in a place without a garden and a grill, I can resist for a little bit more without it."

Sharon was dubious about it, but he seemed convinced. That would have saved them quite a good amount of money, but there were other options to consider too. "What about the fireplace? That could save us more money too,"

"Okay that I want and I need it," he wanted to hug her and kiss her but he couldn't because they were at work, "What about the retiling the floor? Maybe we can skip that for now,"

"Andy that floor in the living room is ugly," Sharon objected.

"I know, I know. But a nice carpet can do for now," Andy was trying to find solutions about saving more money to invest in an offer that would make them win it. "Let me call Maurine and talk to her, I will make a deal about this." For once, even being at work, Sharon let her emotions go and wrapped into Andy's hug. She needed it now more than ever.

By the evening, when it was time to go to the birthday party, her mood had changed into a more cheerful one. Andy had solved everything with Maurine, he had called her and placed an offer that was a lot higher than the last one. "We must have that house, Maurine. I will do everything for Sharon to have it. But this offer will stay up only until the end of the next week, after that we drop off. Take it or leave." It was a big risk, they might lose the house entirely but he had to take that risk to give Sharon the house of her dreams.

 **-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

Andy's risky deal had worked out. The house was theirs. No external works to do, or retiling the floor of the living room, and Sharon also had to renounce to two or three new pieces of furniture she had seen, but it was worth it. It was their house. The one they were going to start fresh, not only as a couple but as a whole new family.

Months passing from the offer and final purchase, things had become all different. They had started to talk about the possibility of finally settling for marriage, and Andy had expressed to Sharon his intention to legally adopt Rusty, he would have had a mother and a father, if he was okay with it. They had yet to discuss it with Rusty himself, but the thought was given some attention.

Among packing and cleaning of all things that had accumulated during the years, and making also a cleaning through Andy's stuff that was still in storage, they had finally been ready to move into the new house. The condo had been sold too and bought by Sharon's neighbours, who wanted to expand their own house into a bigger one and it was a great opportunity for them. But since they had known Sharon for many years now, they hadn't rushed her emptying it and leaving, they gave her all the time she needed, and she was going to need a little bit more now.

When they arrived to their new house, they were surprised to find Provenza there. Like when Andy had moved out from his apartment, everyone had volounteered to help with the moving in but Provenza hadn't given any word about helping. Yet he was there.

"What are you doing here?" Andy asked as he stopped the car, "Who are these guys?"

Patrice appeared from the group of men talking just a few steps from them, "Sharon, Andy, Rusty. These gentlemen are here for the works you have to do on your garden," she said.

"Oh no, we have decided not to do them for now, it's… oh gosh, I thought you told them," Sharon was questioning Andy, who shrugged because he had said all the things they had to give up in order to buy it.

"Yes, we know. Rusty told us about everything, and that is why we are here," Provenza took off his hat. "Look, Patrice and I have been discussing this thing, and this man," he pointed to the master builder, "is my Patrice's brother, and he promised to make an effin work for a good price, if you help him with the painting, because I will not spend a cent more for this idiot," now he was pointing to Andy.

"I'm sorry I don't understand," Andy was confused by his words.

"I am paying for your works, you _idiot_. Take it as a wedding gift, and don't expect me to buy you anything else," he replied.

"Hold on. Hold on. Lieutenant, we are not getting married. You cannot, we cannot accept this." Sharon replied stopping the men from going further in discussions.

"Oh you are not?" replied the old man, "It will happen soon, don't worry. It's not negotiable. Patrice and I have decided to do this, and I am not very happy about using my money,"

"Oh you better take the offer now, Sharon. You don't have to say yes right now, but maybe we can see what they suggest to do and get a cost estimate. Let's go my friend," Patrice took Sharon under her arm and moved to her brother with her.

Provenza and Andy were left alone, looking at the house in silence. "You must really love me if you wish to spend money on us," Andy broke the silence.

" _Idiot_ ," Provenza muttered leaving him and joining his wife and Sharon.

Andy stood there for a little longer, looking at their new house. It was a big adventure they were jumping in, but it was all worth. Rusty went closer to Andy, "So they are paying for the works?" he asked.

"It would seem so," Andy replied. "I am pretty sure that Patrice had to battle for this to happen. He didn't want to pay for your mother's bus ticket years ago. I cannot believe that he went all cheerful about this. And for me."

"Maybe he is going crazy with old age," Rusty shrugged.

Andy looked over at him, "Did he ever look _not crazy_ to you?" They burst into a laugh and Andy gave him a soft slap on the shoulder, "Let's go inside to see, _son_. I am afraid he will decide he has **a right** to have his say because he's paying,"

As Patrice had suggested, it would have taken a few weeks of work and not much money, "Paying for your honeymoon to _Paris_ costed more," Provenza had said, selling out the idea of Andy to bring Sharon to Europe when they finally had gotten married.

"Thank you," Andy had muttered in clenched teeth, "Old people forget everything, and you don't. What is wrong with you?"

Provenza had only shrugged.

Andy turned to Sharon, "I have a surprise for you!" He just said taking her hand and leading her to the one that was going to be her study and Emily's bedroom when she was going to visit, "I thought you wouldn't want to separate from this," standing on the wall next to the doorpost there was Sharon's handwriting. During the years she had marked the height progress of her children. Her eyes blurred with tears and emotions, they had grown so much and it was still funny to see that from a certain point on only Ricky's name was written there and Emily had stopped.

She hadn't expected a surprise like this, "How did you do this? It's a piece of the house." She was surprised he was allowed to remove a whole piece of the doorpost to bring it with him.

"New owners said they will bring down that whole part of the wall and door, so they surely didn't mind me taking this," Andy wrapped his arms around her waist and put his chin on her shoulder, his mouth right next to his right ear. "With everything we had to renounce about, I thought you wanted something _old_ to bring with you," he kissed her on the temple. "After all you let me bring in my recliner," Sharon had a quick look at him, "don't worry it's in my study and you won't see it in the living room!"

Sharon and Andy had agreed that they both needed a space in the house for themselves, where Sharon could have dedicated to her knitting and keep her father's old books in the library, and Andy had his space to place the recliner and read his fishing and gardening magazines. He had also put his tv in there, to watch reruns of old football and baseball games, and he thought it was great to lock Provenza in there when he was bothering him.

When Sharon's kids were going to visit for the holidays, both of them could renounce to their rooms for a few days, it was no big deal.

Sharon turned on her feet and was now face to face with Andy, and their noses met. "I love you, more than words can say and more than anything can really describe it. I hope **this** will show you how much," she kissed him deeply, long and solidly hanging her arms around his shoulders.

 **-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

Two weeks after, as predicted, everything had been finished and settled. They now had a garden they could enjoy, and Andy also had a space to plant something and keep going on his _gardening therapy_.

Sharon and Andy were sitting on the couch, in front of their fireplace. It was a cold winter day outside, and it had been raining for the past two days. Sharon was sipping a glass of wine, with a blanket on her legs and reading her book, "Surprise!" the door opened suddenly.

They weren't expecting any guests, "Oh my… Emily, Ricky!" Sharon jumped off the couch to hug her kids.

"And…" Emily moved away from her hug to show a surprise. Rusty and Gus entered carring a chiffonier in cherry wood, just like the one Sharon had wanted to buy. "Happy early birthday, mom!"

Sharon was speechless, and she had a look at Andy, "You knew all about this,"

"You mean to say I plotted with our kids for getting you the thing you wanted and bring it to you?" He replied with a funny offended tone, "Yes I did, guilty!" He then raised his hand and smiled, while winking to Ricky and Emily.

"My birthday isn't until February, why is this a birthday gift and not a Christmas one?" She replied admiring it. She did really want it, to put in the bedroom, because it would have been perfect with the style of the room, and her old chiffonier was falling into pieces now after fifteen years.

"Because we bought Christmas gifts already, before Andy told us about this," Emily replied. "Oh by the way, Andy, just so you know," Emily took off her jacket and moved close to the fire to warm up. "When you came to New York two months ago for my show, my friends all wanted your number." Sharon folded her arms, she looked jealous to Andy. "I told them all you are my dad so, you know, you need to marry her soon!" She smiled.

Andy suddenly turned red with embarassement, "Well, I… I am…"

"What Andy is trying to say, is that we thank you for showing him off with pride, but we will discuss the marriage thing in our own times." Sharon intervened, winking at Emily. Andy took a deep breath and walked the boys to get something hot to drink and warm up.

Sharon moved closer to Emily and sat down next to her. Kissing her little girl on the temple, she whispered "Thank you,"

Emily took her kiss closing her eyes and hugged her, "I hope it did work to move it up a little, _partner_." For a few times after they had moved in the new house, Sharon and Emily had spoken at the phone about the possibility of a marriage and Sharon had expressed her concern about the fact that Andy hadn't mentioned it anymore. She was scared by the idea of getting married again, but she was sure she had wanted it with Andy. After all, she had been scared about moving in with him too, and now it all seemed a funny thing to laugh about.

"Umm, seems we are partners in crime now." Sharon hugged Emily tightly. "Does my partner want some hot chocolate? Or is she on a strict diet?" She asked her daughter.

"I think I will take it. Soon it will be Christmas, I can't watch at my diet on the most joyful day of the year." They both stood up to walk towards the boys. As they arrived Sharon wrapped her arms around Andy's torso, and Emily put her arm around Ricky's neck. "So, little brother. This is your boyfriend, huh?" She had a look at Gus. "I am curious. Did he make with you the whole speech of _if you hurt him I kill you_? Or only our father did that with mine?" Emily was pointing to Andy.

"No he didn't," Gus replied to Rusty's relief. He wasn't sure if he may have, in a moment he was away, and he didn't know about. "But your mother warned me to be careful because she carries a gun and can track me down, does it count?" Now Rusty was looking at Sharon who had a rather satisfied look for her speech.

Emily and Ricky looked at each other, and then Ricky offered Gus a hand to shake, "Welcome to the family! In case you decide to hurt little brother here, shave your head, because this one," he pointed to Emily, "can pull your hair like no one can, so you better want to be safe." They all burst into a laugh, and Sharon was brought back to when they both were teenagers and constantly fighting, and Emily would pull Ricky's hair all the time, because it was the only way she could make him surrender, since Ricky was already twice as tall as her.

Sharon had moved from the small groups, laughing and making jokes, and watched her new gift standing there in the living room. She ran her hands on it, feeling the wood with her touch. Suddenly Andy's hands slid to her sides and clasped, they were swinging together, "If I was to ask you **that thing** , would you say yes?" He asked in a whisper to her ears.

"You can try and see how it goes," she teased.

"Sharon?" she hummed in reply, "Will you marry me?"

They were still swinging and Sharon took a few seconds before she gave her answer, "Yes!"

In the background, a _gang_ of four was clapping and screaming for joy. Sharon turned to kiss him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

This adventure had just taken a new turn, and it was all starting from a house, and now moving to a new family.

 **D**

* * *

 _I wanted to take a moment after this to say THANK YOU, for all the previous reviews and all those that will come. You have been amazing and the support, I cannot thank you enough._

 _I also wanted to clear a few things: I described the mattress store as some big ones are here, I ignore how they are in LA, but it's not really relevant to the whole story how they are made, it served only for a funny (not-yet)married-couple scene._  
 _Also, I'm very aware that Provenza probably would have never paid for that, but consider that Patrice is the voice of his conscience and can be very convincing and also that being her brother was going to be a great price, and that all the men, and maybe also Tao Julio and Buzz would have been put at service to paint or help somehow._

 _And thanks again to Elizabeth for the effin work as beta, and Elena for the marvellous cover._

 **Comments and review are always welcome.**


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